Assumption about the Company
Tittle: Development of cloud based wireless handled devices for TicketMates
The organization “TicketMates” is one of the ticketing desks that generally help in offering number of ticketing services to the customers (Ticketmates.com.au 2017). The organization helps in serving as one stop shop in order to provide tickets to guests both locally as well as abroad. It is assumed that TicketMates operates on a Web Platform with a call center model for meeting the in-house ICT infrastructure. It is analyzed that the organization is facing lot of issue due to increase in the rise of maintenance cost of ICT infrastructure and therefore the higher authority of the organization wants to utilize cloud based wireless handled devices with proper integration with location base service interface for gaining proper competitive advantage.
The scopes of the project include:
- To develop cloud based wireless handled devices for managing the operation of the organization
- To gain huge competitive advantage in the market for running the business smoothly
- To resolve the issues of rising maintenance cost with the help of new cloud based ICT infrastructure
The organization mainly operates on a web platform with the help of a call center model for meeting the needs of the client with the help of the in-house ICT infrastructure (Ticketmates.com.au 2017). Recently TicketMates analyzes number of issues with the in-house ICT infrastructure including the rising maintenance cost of ICT infrastructure. In addition to this, it is analyzed that the workers of the organization cannot manage the operation irrespective of the location. It is identified that the existing infrastructure of TicketMates is not capable of offering seamless service to their clientele across the globe.
The higher authority of the organization wants to resolve the issues that TicketMates is facing due to its existing infrastructure. In order to resolve the issue, they wants to implement cloud based wireless handled device. It is identified that with the help of the cloud based infrastructure, the organization not only gets the opportunity of resolving issues but also achieves proper competitive advantage in the market (Kerzner 2013). In addition to this, the new cloud based ICT infrastructure helps in offering number of seamless services t the clientele across the globe and both the customers as well as clientele are getting mobile and are often undertaking travels between different countries.
Cloud computing infrastructure mainly refers to the hardware and software components, which mainly include storage, servers, and network, as well as virtualization software which are mainly required in order to support the various computing needs of a cloud-computing model (Burke 2013). In addition to this, cloud-computing infrastructure includes an abstraction layers that helps in virtualizing various types of resources and logically assists in presenting them to the different users with the help of application program interface and API-enabled command line.
It is identified that in order to implement cloud based wireless handled devices within the organization “TicketMates”, SaaS model must be selected. According to (), software as a service is one of the alternative to the standard installation of software in the business environment for building the server and for installing the application in order to configure it (Soofi et al. 2014). It is identified that SaaS model is selected as it helps in reducing time to benefit, helps in lowering costs and it is quite easy to use. Additionally, SaaS model resides within cloud environment which are quite scalable and have proper integration with other offerings of SaaS.
Scope
Project Schedule
Task Name |
Duration |
Start |
Finish |
Development of cloud based wireless handled devices for “TicketMates” |
50 days |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Initiation phase |
14 days |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Development of business case |
5 days |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 12/19/17 |
Studying feasibility of the project |
3 days |
Wed 12/20/17 |
Fri 12/22/17 |
Establishing project charter |
5 days |
Mon 12/25/17 |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Appointing team members for the project |
4 days |
Wed 12/27/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase |
0 days |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Planning phase |
16 days |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Mon 1/22/18 |
Creation of proper project plan |
5 days |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Fri 1/5/18 |
Creating of resource plan |
6 days |
Tue 1/2/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
Creation of financial plan |
7 days |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
Developing quality management plan |
5 days |
Mon 1/8/18 |
Fri 1/12/18 |
Creating risk management plan |
6 days |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Creating proper communication plan |
5 days |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Tue 1/16/18 |
Developing proper procurement plan |
5 days |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Tue 1/16/18 |
Contracting with the suppliers of the project |
6 days |
Mon 1/15/18 |
Mon 1/22/18 |
Milestone 2: Completion of project planning |
0 days |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Execution phase |
25 days |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Identification of audience characteristics |
10 days |
Thu 1/18/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
Selecting platform |
11 days |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
Selecting app architecture |
13 days |
Tue 1/23/18 |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Selecting app form factor |
14 days |
Tue 1/23/18 |
Fri 2/9/18 |
Selection of deployment model |
15 days |
Thu 1/18/18 |
Wed 2/7/18 |
Planning for signaling |
12 days |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Leveraging new mobile platform capabilities |
14 days |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Defining app distribution strategy |
14 days |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Milestone 3: Completion of execution phase |
0 days |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Closure phase |
9 days |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Post project review |
3 days |
Mon 2/12/18 |
Wed 2/14/18 |
Stakeholders sign off |
3 days |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Mon 2/12/18 |
Final documentation |
2 days |
Mon 2/19/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Milestone 4: Completion of closure phase |
0 days |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Figure 1: WBS
(Source: Created by Author)
Task Name |
Completion Date |
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Milestone 2: Completion of project planning |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Milestone 3: Completion of execution phase |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Milestone 4: Completion of closure phase |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Task Name |
Early Start |
Early Finish |
Late Start |
Late Finish |
Total Slack |
Development of cloud based wireless handled devices for “TicketMates” |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Initiation phase |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
0 days |
Development of business case |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 12/19/17 |
Wed 12/13/17 |
Tue 12/19/17 |
0 days |
Studying feasibility of the project |
Wed 12/20/17 |
Fri 12/22/17 |
Wed 12/20/17 |
Fri 12/22/17 |
0 days |
Establishing project charter |
Mon 12/25/17 |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Mon 12/25/17 |
Fri 12/29/17 |
0 days |
Appointing team members for the project |
Mon 12/25/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Wed 12/27/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
0 days |
Milestone 1: Completion of initiation phase |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Fri 12/29/17 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
0 days |
Planning phase |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Mon 1/22/18 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Fri 1/26/18 |
0 days |
Creation of proper project plan |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Fri 1/5/18 |
Wed 1/3/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
2 days |
Creating of resource plan |
Tue 1/2/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
Tue 1/2/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
0 days |
Creation of financial plan |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
Mon 1/1/18 |
Tue 1/9/18 |
0 days |
Developing quality management plan |
Mon 1/8/18 |
Fri 1/12/18 |
Fri 1/12/18 |
Thu 1/18/18 |
4 days |
Creating risk management plan |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
0 days |
Creating proper communication plan |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Tue 1/16/18 |
Thu 1/11/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
1 day |
Developing proper procurement plan |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Tue 1/16/18 |
Wed 1/10/18 |
Tue 1/16/18 |
0 days |
Contracting with the suppliers of the project |
Mon 1/15/18 |
Mon 1/22/18 |
Fri 1/19/18 |
Fri 1/26/18 |
4 days |
Milestone 2: Completion of project planning |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Fri 1/26/18 |
Fri 1/26/18 |
6 days |
Execution phase |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Identification of audience characteristics |
Thu 1/18/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
Thu 1/18/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
0 days |
Selecting platform |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
Wed 1/17/18 |
Wed 1/31/18 |
0 days |
Selecting app architecture |
Tue 1/23/18 |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Fri 2/2/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
8 days |
Selecting app form factor |
Tue 1/23/18 |
Fri 2/9/18 |
Mon 1/29/18 |
Thu 2/15/18 |
4 days |
Selection of deployment model |
Thu 1/18/18 |
Wed 2/7/18 |
Fri 1/26/18 |
Thu 2/15/18 |
6 days |
Planning for signaling |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
0 days |
Leveraging new mobile platform capabilities |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Defining app distribution strategy |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Thu 2/1/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Milestone 3: Completion of execution phase |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
8 days |
Closure phase |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Post project review |
Mon 2/12/18 |
Wed 2/14/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
4 days |
Stakeholders sign off |
Thu 2/8/18 |
Mon 2/12/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
6 days |
Final documentation |
Mon 2/19/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Mon 2/19/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
0 days |
Milestone 4: Completion of closure phase |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Fri 2/16/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
Tue 2/20/18 |
2 days |
The cloud computing infrastructure project will be governed with the help of the principles that are provided below:
Compliance with standards and policies: The cloud infrastructure must have compliance with policies and standards for enabling integrated as well as consistent approach across the ecosystem for anticipating, mitigating as well as addressing risk specific to the cloud solutions (Avram 2014).
Driving of cloud strategy with the help of business objectives: The cloud strategy must be derived with the help of business objectives for implementing cloud solutions effectively within the organization.
Reporting requirements: The requirements must be reported to that the cloud infrastructure can be implemented properly within TicketMates.
Collaborative ecosystem between customers and cloud ecosystem: Proper as well as collaborative ecosystem between customers as well as cloud ecosystem is needed for clarifying the roles, responsibilities, accountability, authority for making proper arrangement of work (Borgman et al. 2013).
Adherence to the change management procedure: Proper change must be enforced as well as exercised in the cloud ecosystem for resolving disruption of project due to risk.
Enforcement to vitality processes: It is identified that cloud computing processes of governance most properly or dynamically monitors the events for triggering continuous improvements.
The cloud computing project success will be measured with the help of the following:
Cost: If the project of cloud computing infrastructure will be completed within the assumed budget that is around $149,440 then the entire project will be considered successful (Hashem et al. 2015).
Time: If the project of developing cloud base wireless handled devices is completed within 50 days then the project will be considered to be successful.
Quality: The project of cloud computing infrastructure must be able to handle the operation of the organization properly by providing quality based services to the customers then it can be analyzed that the project is successful (Sultan 2014).
The cloud computing implementation strategies include the following:
Check Application: It is identified that the organization needs to carry out certain assessment in order to determine applications that are helpful for the readiness of the cloud (Laudon and Laudon 2016). This generally means evaluating with the help of potential supplier for checking the readiness of all the key applications.
Checking technical support: While utilizing cloud services, one has to entrust lot of business data to the service servers so it is quite important for TicketMates to hire a service representative for consulting if anything goes wrong.
Cost analysis: The business case of cloud computing cannot be successful until proper cost analysis is done (Clohessy, Acton and Morgan 2014). It is identified that cost analysis mainly helps in deciding whether the investment is profitable or not. The cost must include capital, operational as well as overhead costs.
Migration strategy: It is identified that defining a migration strategy mainly helps in understanding the different types of migration option that s available for establishing proper business priorities as well as for evolving strategies that helps in offering fine balance for meeting priorities of business.
The strategies for tracking project progress as well as reporting to major stakeholders include:
Introduction of Cloud Computing Infrastructure and Selection of Appropriate Model for Incorporating Cloud Computing Changes
Analyzing weekly project report: The weekly report of the project progress must be checked in order to track the progress of the project and for informing project stakeholders about the status of the project (Chai, Chi and Wang 2015).
Monitoring cost of the project: The cost of the project must be monitored proper in order to ensure that the project is progressing properly and will be completed within the estimated budget.
Undertaking weekly meetings: Proper weekly meetings must be arranged in order to report to the project stakeholders about the project activities (Yang et al. 2014).
Analyzing the project status: The status of the project must be monitored on a weekly basis in order to track the progress of the project
The key measurement criteria that help in achieving on time and on budget completion of the project are as follows:
Management of project scope: Management of project scope helps in maximizing the budgeted money, time as well as resources for carry out the project properly within assumed time and budget.
Estimate correct project schedule: It is quite important to calculate the project length in each step for determining the proper schedule of the project so that entire project can be completed successfully.
Budget: Proper budget forecasting must be done so that the entire project will be completed within the budget that is estimated without creating any type of financial problem.
Risks: The risks of the project must be estimated properly for resolving the issue so that the risk does not obstruct the project progress and the entire project will be completed within the estimated budget and schedule.
The risks associated with the project are as follows:
Unauthorized access to the customers: Hackers can access the data as well as information stored in the cloud and therefore the organization needs to provide proper security so that only authorized person can access data (Kerzner 2013).
Risk due to lack of control: Proper control on to cloud computing ICT infrastructure is needed and t is identified that due to absence of proper ICT infrastructure, the organization faces lot of issues.
Improper management of schedule: The schedules of the project are not managed properly and as a result, the organization fares difficulty in completing the task on proper time (Larson and Gray 2013).
Strategies for mitigating the issues are provided below:
Proper management: The resources, schedule as well as budget of the project must be managed properly so that the activities of the project must be completed successfully (Fleming and Koppelman 2016).
Proper control: Proper control is required in order to manage risks associated with cloud computing platform and for developing the project successfully.
Proper security: Proper security must be provided so that only authorized person can access data that s present within the cloud (Kerzner 2013).
Recommendation and Conclusion
It can be concluded from the entire assignment that development of cloud based wires devices will be advantageous for the company for resolving issues as well as for gaining competitive advantage. In addition to this, the organization can be able to offer seamless to their client across the world. In spite of this, the project faces lot of issues in completing the project, which needs to be resolved for successfully completing the project on time and budget.
The recommendations include:
Proper budget estimation: The budget of the project must be estimated properly so that the project must be completed within assumed budget
Proper management of resources: The resources that are required in the project must be estimated correctly so that the project does not face any type of financial issue.
Weekly tracking of project: Proper project tracking is necessary for ensuring that the project is going on the right track.
References
Avram, M.G., 2014. Advantages and challenges of adopting cloud computing from an enterprise perspective. Procedia Technology, 12, pp.529-534.
Borgman, H.P., Bahli, B., Heier, H. and Schewski, F., 2013, January. Cloudrise: exploring cloud computing adoption and governance with the TOE framework. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2013 46th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 4425-4435). IEEE.
Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.
Chai, J., Chi, H.L. and Wang, X., 2015, September. A novel automatic process for construction progress tracking based on laser scanning for industrial plants. In International conference on cooperative design, visualization and engineering (pp. 250-258). Springer, Cham.
Clohessy, T., Acton, T. and Morgan, L., 2014, December. Smart City as a Service (SCaaS): a future roadmap for e-government smart city cloud computing initiatives. In Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE/ACM 7th International Conference on Utility and Cloud Computing (pp. 836-841). IEEE Computer Society.
Fleming, Q.W. and Koppelman, J.M., 2016, December. Earned value project management. Project Management Institute.
Fleming, Q.W. and Koppelman, J.M., 2016, December. Earned value project management. Project Management Institute.
Hashem, I.A.T., Yaqoob, I., Anuar, N.B., Mokhtar, S., Gani, A. and Khan, S.U., 2015. The rise of “big data” on cloud computing: Review and open research issues. Information Systems, 47, pp.98-115
Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Kerzner, H., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Larson, E.W. and Gray, C., 2013. Project Management: The Managerial Process with MS Project. McGraw-Hill.
Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P., 2016. Management information system. Pearson Education India.
Soofi, A.A., Khan, M.I., Talib, R. and Sarwar, U., 2014. Security Issues in SaaS Delivery Model of Cloud Computing. International journal of computer science and mobile computing, 3(3), pp.15-21.
Sultan, N., 2014. Making use of cloud computing for healthcare provision: Opportunities and challenges. International Journal of Information Management, 34(2), pp.177-184.
Ticketmates.com.au. (2017). TM Agent. [online] Available at: https://www.ticketmates.com.au/ [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].
Yang, J., Park, M.W., Vela, P.A. and Golparvar-Fard, M., 2015. Construction performance monitoring via still images, time-lapse photos, and video streams: Now, tomorrow, and the future. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 29(2), pp.211-224.