Project Management For Customer Relationship System Implementation

Scope and review

Scope and review

The scope defines the boundary in which the project deliverables will be covered by the project team (Kloppenborg 2014, p.12). The customer relationship system to be developed is expected to serve the organization, customers and employees. The new system will be hosted using cloud computing to make easier accessibility at any point or location. The scope coverage of the project is to: develop a mobile office work system that employees can work whenever and be easily tracked. Improve customer relations by providing them with laptops, tablets, and smart phones with TOSIG systems moved with cloud computing so as to enable them get accessed to information regarding their policies. The scope of the project will entail training the various users on how the system will perform and work (Burke 2013 p.34).  The training will form the last stage of the project that facilitates handing over to the immediate owner. The project needs to be achieved within a budget of $10000. Budgetary resource costing are essential components in ensuring project outcomes. The project will employ two methods of estimations in coming up with the budget (bottom and time up estimations).

Project requirements: The project requirements define technical and operative function of the system. The system is expected to create cost baselines, cash flow forecasts, earning value management processes, and create percentage compliant proposal (Bryde, Broquetas & Volm 2013 p.35). To obtain the required goal the project will need to have a provider for customer relationship system, finances to buy the required infrastructure of the project, resources and finances to purchase the product and resources, set required time for employee’s trainings, and controls techniques and monitoring systems.  

Project deliverables: The project deliverables are high level activities expected to be achieved by the projec (Chapell & Dunn 2015 p.56). tThe project deliverables include the following: Requirement gathering of the system, technical specifications of the system, development of the system, server installations, client PC set ups, unit tests of all developments, user acceptance testing of the application, training users of the developed system, going live with the system, and project review and closure

In frame and out frame items: the in frame items to be executed by the project including seeking for a system provider, writing of the project charter, and training the various users on the system to be implemented. The project out frame items including matters of contractual management with various service providers, buying of the IT infrastructures.

Project requirements

Scope verifications- Final product should be able to meet the project design plan features presented by the civil engineers. At each stage of the constructions a verification and specification audit will be done (Chen 2012 p.45).  

Scope control- control charts and control cybernetics tools will be used to ensure that the activities go as scheduled. The project manager will be tasked with the role of controlling the execution of project activities as per the plans.

Business case

The business case justifies the need to have the project implemented by the organization (Dibrell, Craig & Neubaum 2014 p.35). By upgrading its current system and adopting the new customer relationship system the business is intending to increase the number of new customers and be able to retain the current customers. The use of the system is aimed at improving efficiency in operations by reducing the time spent in filling forms. It will also provide a suitable opportunity in which the company can reduce its overhead costs significantly be closing down physical offices. Feasibility studies will be provided to provide the basis to approve the project. There is concern that TOSIG are missing opportunities to sell more insurance because their agents do not have the ability to receive a report in the field.  The organisational strategy is to maintain existing customers and increase the number of insurance products offered to clients.  Another factor is that currently agents spend a considerable about of time in the office entering information into the system from the site visit form, while TOSIG would prefer that they spent more time out in the field visiting potential and existing clients.  The project team will formulate a suitable business like strategy that will ensure that the project is completed within the three constraints of scope, budget and time. The business case will employ SWOT analysis to identify strategy to be employed. Template 1 presents SWOT analysis for the company.

Template 1 SWOT analysis

Background

Tier one suppliers insurance group (TOSIG) is a company that offers insurance needs to tier one suppliers on improvements of buildings, fencing, stock yards, storage silo’s and machinery. The company is aiming to maintain its business and grow it business levels. The business has 6.7 billion dollars’ worth of risks that it has insured from across different sectors. The main future goal of the company is to target to sale insurance to small and medium enterprise. Currently it is up to each agent to maintain information on their book of clients although information on policies is kept in a central database.   Approximately every five years a site visit to the client is arranged so that the agent can confirm the details of the items they are currently insuring (Dibrell, Craig & Neubaum 2014 p.56).  

Project deliverables

Milestone schedule

The milestone shows the key deliverables to be achieved by the project with the expected scheduled time (Gido & Clements 2014 p.68). TOSIG is focused at implementing the project within the specified six months. It is important for the project team to provide the schedule because it will provide the guidelines to be followed. Table 1 presents a tabular summary of project milestones.

Table 2 summary of milestones

The milestones schedule will later be useful guidelines for developing schedules of activities and resources for the project (Graham 2013 p.38).

Risks, assumptions and constraints

The Assumptions of the project will include: customer relationship system is assumed that it will perform as expected, it also assume that there will be sufficiency of resources, and the project team will also assume there will be no changes in technology in the near future (Siren & Kohtamaki 2016 p.56). Other assumptions that form risks to the project include: that the employee’s will not resist to the adoption of the new system, the system will not be incompatibility with the organization current operations, that the customers will not be non-responsive.  The constraints of the project are resources and time. There is race in time to implement the project within the required standards and client expectation. Resources are limited and it is necessary they are put in place to avoid misuse and wastages.   The project constraints will include time and budget. The project management expects to accomplish the entire project within the approved time and budget. The project manager is tasked with the responsibility of balancing the constraints to avoid overrun. The project will depend on the following: It will assume that users will use alternative by passes during the constructions, and they will use signs provided to them. In addition the project expects that stakeholders involved will cooperate fully.

Risk and management

Risks originates from the location where the project is located or situated (Andrew 2014 p.78). The project will use brainstorming technique to identify the risks facing the project.  Risks affect operations of the project positively or negatively for they need to be identified, assessed, analyzed and mitigated. The risks identified for the project include the following:

A= A negative risk of employees resisting on implementation of the system

B= A negative risk that the system may be not be compatible with the company operations

C= Negative risk emerging from intense competition emerging from the industry

In frame and out frame items

D= A negative risk which will emerge from customers unwilling to co-operate.  

Table 2 shows the probability and impact matrix used to analyze risks in order to rank them  

Table 4 Probability and impact matrix

Impact

The ranking from the probability/impact matrix will be as follows:  C, D, A, B

Risk analysis will follow with development of a risk register, the register is a useful tool that can be used to mitigate and manage the various risks. Table 3 presents the risk register to be used by project.

Table 3 Risk register

Stakeholder lists

Stakeholders are individuals who will either affect by the performance of the project directly or indirectly. It is important for project managers to document the list of stakeholders in order to provide a suitable communication schedule (Bourne, 2015). Stakeholder analysis will be used to identify the interest and power in order to classify them. The project team through the communication plan will provide a schedule for communicating needs from various stakeholders. The plan will specify the frequency of communicating the needs and mode that will be used for communicating.  The project execution will involve identifying the various needs of various stakeholders and documenting them in a stakeholder register. . The stakeholders can be those affected directly or those affected indirectly it is important for the projects management to take considerations of this expectations. Table 4 shows a summary of communication mode for targeted stakeholders. In addition it shows how communication messages will be delivered, and the technique in which the information will be delivered, the person responsible, and the frequency of the delivery.

Approval and acceptance plate

The acceptance plate is important in ensuring the customer is satisfied with project activities. During any project life cycle stage it is critical for the project team to seek for acceptance and approval before commencing to the next stage.  (Curtin, 2014). The project evaluations will be conducted to evaluate progress, performance of the project at a particular period of time. The project evaluations is planned to be done at the end of each phases of the project. The system will be developed by the project team to enable reporting functions. The project validation process is important in ensuring quality is maintained and controlled. It works with verification process to ensure that the project activities and functions meet international standards. The process of quality validation will take place at each stage and activities of the project.

 Project closure is scheduled to be done after the project goal has been achieved and evaluations have been done  (Walter. Armstrong & Wallance , 2001). Before handing over is done to the owners tests will be done for a certain period to establish if the project deliverables have been met and the system is correctly functioning. A handing ceremony and launching will then take place. Table 5 presents a template for acceptance plan for the development of customer relations systems.

Table 5 Acceptance plan

Reference lists

Andrew, F., 2014. Effects of risk management in projects. New York: Mc Graw Hill.

Bourne, L., 2015. Making projects work:effective stakeholder and communication management. New Delhi: CRC press.

Bryde, Broquetas & Volm ., 2013. The project benefits of building information modelling. International Journal of project management, 31(7), 971-980.

Burke, R., 2013. Project management: planning and control tecniques. New Jersey: Wiley publishers.

Chapell, D & Dunn, M., 2015. The design and architect in practice . New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Chen, J., 2012. Procurement activities in projects. Bonville weekly review , 12-78.

Cleland, D., 2013. Project management handbook. New York, United States: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Curtin, M., 2014. Simple techniques win customers. Journal of analytical business studies, 45-87.

Dibrell, Craig & Neubaum., 2014. Linking the formal quality planning process, planning flexibility and innovativeness to firm performance. Journal of business research, 67(9), 2000-2007.

Gido & Clements., 2014. Successful project management. Chicago: Nelson Education.

Graham, K., 2013. Strategic planning how to write a strategic plan that drives performance . Strategic factors manual, 81-96.

Kloppenborg, T., 2014. Contemporary project management. London: Nelson Education.

Siren & Kohtamaki., 2016. Stretching strategic learning to the limit: interaction between strategic planning and learning. Journal of business research, 69(2), 653-663.

Walter. Armstrong & Wallance ., 2014. Case study of construction management on Boston Habour project reflections at project completion. CM ejournal, 1-22.

Ye, Chen, Sanjeev Jha, and Kevin, Desouza., 2015. Communicating the business value of innovation and quality management. International Journal of Innovation Science, 1-12.

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