Project Plan And Operational Plan: An Overview

Importance of Determining Project Goals, Scope, Deliverables, and Deadlines

A project plan is mainly defined as one of the essential document that is used in order to keep the entire project on track. Within the entire project plan, It is quite necessary to determine the goals, scope, deliverables as well as deadlines of the project (Kerzner and Kerzner 2017). On the other hand, operational plan is mainly defined as one of the procedure that helps in planning the strategic goals and objectives. It further helps in giving proper clear picture of how a team, section as well as department helps in contributing to the achievement as per the goals of the organization.

The five phases of the project that are generally outlined in PMBOK are mainly listed below:

• Initiation phase
• Planning phase
• Execution phase
• Monitoring and controlling phase
• Closing

The policies, procedures as well as guidelines that are used by the organization within the project are generally listed below:

Workplace safety policies:  The organization generally utilizes workplace safety policies in order to mitigate the damage of the lawsuits but generally helps in providing proper guidance to the employees which general act as proper preventive measures.

Disciplinary policies: This policy is generally utilized in order to protect the company against the unfair dismissal or the various types of damage that is generally inflicted on the business

Work hours and turnaround time: This policy is utilized by the organization within the project in order to properly fostering a better culture within the company for developing better relations with the client (Hornstein 2015).

Utilization of strategic direction: The procedures are applied by the organization within the project for making sure that the daily activities of the project are inline and are appropriate for the strategic goals of the organization. It is found that that it does not helps in improving the practices of the project but also helps in creating proper culture within the company.

Utilization of processes for aligning with the resources of the company: It is found that proper processes are generally utilized within the project in order to align the resources of the project properly with the project resources for completing the project on time (Svejvig and Andersen 2015).

 The questions that are asked to the project sponsor as well as project customers for clarifying the objectives and scope of the project are generally listed below:

• What are the requirements that are needed to be achieved for meeting project objectives?
• How much time and money is generally required for completing the project work?
• What are the resources that are required for finishing the project?

Yes,  in the project planning phase, one needs to consult with the project stakeholders including the customers, project sponsor as well as the project team members in order to get proper information about the entire procedure of gathering data as well as information of the project. Consultation with the stakeholders is generally required for properly planning as well as designing the project in order to achieve the goals and project objectives effectively (Kaiser, M.G., El Arbi and Ahlemann 2015).

Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines Used by Organizations in Managing Projects

The steps that helps in reflecting that the stakeholders who are involved with the project are clear about their responsibilities and roles of the project are generally listed below:

• The project stakeholders perform their roles and responsibilities effectively within the project for completing the project work
• The stakeholders can be able to properly execute the project activities as per the initial plan of the project (De Carvalho et al. 2015).
• The work that is performed by the project stakeholders helps in reflecting that that project goals can be achieved successfully.

The steps that are required to be performed by the project sponsor as well as the customers of the project for successfully commencing the work of the project:

Determining as well as analyzing the needs as well as requirements of the customers

• Identifying the key influencers and their needs and requirements
• Analyzing the business requirements and alternatives
• Developing proper business case as well as proper investment story
• Developing proper objectives and aim of the project

Project Name: Development of ERP System for Blach construction company
Prepared by: Project manager (Name: Please fill)
Date: 05-03-2019
Initiation	The name of the project is development of ERP system in Blach Construction company which is mainly developed by the project manager within the assumed budget and time.
Synopsis	The project mainly reflects on the Blach construction company that is one of the commercial builder who generally helps in providing reimbursement for approved certifications and coursework. It is found that the organization manages its operations with the help of paper based system and due to which the organization faces number of problems as well as issues including misinterpretation, human error, inconsistency in data entry, reduction in sharing information, improper security as well as chances of data duplication. In order to resolve this issue, the organization wants to develop ERP system for the organization. The main purpose of the organization to manage its operations with the help of ERP system so that the problems that are faced by the construction company can be resolved easily. It is found that the development of ERP system will get completed in 2 months by utilizing budget of around $60,000. The resources that are generally utilized within the project include technical resources, human resources as well as financial resources for completing the  project work within the assumed time and budget.
Purpose/Business Need	The main purpose of the project is to develop an ERP system for the organization “Blach construction company”. It is found that the organization mainly uses manual system for successfully managing the operations however due to the utilization of manual system, it faces number of problems like misinterpretation, inconsistency, duplication and more. For minimizing the issues and for properly managing the operations, the organization aims to develop an ERP system.
Product Description and Deliverables	The deliverables of the project are elaborated below: · Development of ERP system · Proper change management plan · Proper project plan · End user training document
Project Management	It is found that agile project management methodology is mainly utilized in order to manage the development of ERP system successfully. It is found that agile development is generally integrated during the testing cycle that helps in reflecting that development of ERP is tracked regularly for making sure that all activities are executed properly. Moreover, the paper also helps in eliminating the chances of project failure as agile methodology helps in eliminating the risks and challenges.
Assumptions, Constraints, Risks	Assumptions The assumptions include: · Completion of project within 2 months · All the team members will work actively for completing the work · The project team will follow the scope of the project properly Constraints The constraints of the project include: · Inappropriate availability of time for project · Inappropriate presence of project budget · Chances of scope creep · Improper management due to which rising number of project risks Risks The risks that are associated with the project mainly include: · Improper scheduling of project budget · Lack of project budget for completing the project · Improper management of the project · Inexperienced team members of the project · Improper testing after the development of the project
Resources	Financial resources: It is found that $60,000 is needed for developing the ERP system for the organization. Material resources: The material resources that are needed include: · Equipment · Supplies · Other materials Personnel resources: The human resources who are involved with the project are listed below: · Project manager · Project planner · IT manager · Developer · Risk manager · HR manager

The project team structure is generally reflected below:

Audience	Message	Frequency	Vehicle	Responsibility
Project manager	The project team member discusses the issues and problem that they face while involving with the project so that the problems can be resolved effectively.	Whenever necessary	Email, Face to face	Project team members
Project team members	The project manager discusses the scope and objectives of the project so that they can be able to work effectively on the project.	Before the project initiation	Email, Face to face	Project manager
Financial managers	The team leaders generally discusses the financial issues that they face while completing the work of the project.	Whenever required	Email, Face to face	Team leaders
Project manager	The project planner discusses the project status with the project managers so that they can be able to keep track on the project	Monthly	Email, Face to face	Project planner

Risk	Description	Impact	Probability	Responsible	Mitigation
Schedule slippage	If the schedule of the project is not managed properly then it will be quite difficult to finish the project.	High	High	Project planner	If the schedule of the project is properly managed then the problem of schedule slippage can be avoided.
Lack of budget	Due to lack of budget, it will be quite difficult to develop the ERP system effectively on time.	High	High	Financial manager	It is quite necessary to manage the budget of the project properly for avoiding financial issues.
Technical issue	If testing is not done properly then it will be quite difficult to finish the project successfully.	High	High	Tester	It is quite necessary to conduct testing properly for avoiding technical issues and challenges.
Inexperienced team members	If the project team staffs are inexperienced then they face lot of challenges in finishing the work.	Medium	Medium	Project manager	It is quite important to hire experienced team members within the project for avoiding challenges
Improper management	If proper management is not done then it will be very much difficult to manage the project work successfully.	Medium	Medium	Human resource manager	It is necessary to use proper management strategies for developing the ERP system properly.

 The methods that are mainly utilized for monitoring the performance of the project in context to finances, resources as well as quality of the project are mainly listed below:

Tracking schedule: After the project commencement, it is the responsibility of the project team to track the project progress on a weekly basis for making sure that the expenditure that is mainly incurred or the time that is needed for completing the project can be monitored quite easily (Bucero and Englund 2015).

Cost-schedule-milestone graph: It generally helps in representing the planned cost of various project milestones. It generally helps in reflecting the actual cost that is generally needed for achieving the milestone. By comparing the cost that is planned to the cost that is estimated for tracking the project progress.

Earned value method: It is generally used to track the schedule as well as cost of the project quite properly. During the project progress, the progress of the overall project can be monitored quite easily (Conforto et al. 2016).

  The method that is utilized for reporting the progress of the project to the relevant stakeholders are generally elaborated below:

Monthly progress report: The monthly progress report is used by the project planner for reflecting the progress of the schedule and for reflecting that the entire schedule in on track and it will be completed on proper time (Kivila, Martinsuo and Vuorinen 2017).

Weekly progress report: The weekly progress report is mainly used for reflecting the financial progress of the project and further it helps in showing that the budget that is mainly assigned for the project is appropriate for finishing the project.

The methods that are used for managing as well as monitoring the potential as well as actual risk that may arise in the project are generally elaborated below:

Budget overspend: If the budget of the project is not managed properly by the financial manager of the project then the budget that is generally needed for the project increases which further enhances number of issues and challenges in the project (Samset and Volden 2016).

Phases of the Project Outlined in PMBOK

Missed deadline: If the project managers are unable to track the schedule of the project properly then the chances of missed deadline within the project increases.

Unacceptable outcomes: If the project is not managed properly due to lack of proper management strategies, then the outcome of the project will be unacceptable as it will be quite difficult to achieve the goals and objectives of the project (Andersen 2016).

Inappropriate training facility: If proper facility of training is not provided to the team members, then it will be quite difficult to manage the project activities properly.

The methods that are mainly utilized for making changes as well as for making adjustments in context to the resources are generally elaborated below:

Tracking: Tracking is considered as one of the important step that is needed to be utilized by the manger in order to deliver the project effectively even some adjustments or changes are done in context to allocated budget and time.

Proper scheduling: Proper scheduling is considered as one of the important methods for making sure that the project schedule is on track and it will be finished as per the initial project plan (Fleming 2019).

Weekly progress update: Weekly progress update is found to be necessary for updating the details as well as progress of project in order to make sure that the entire project is on track and it will be completed on time.

The various types of project records that is needed for retaining the reference purpose are generally elaborated below:

 Records of customer communication: The communication that is done with the customers are documented as well as recorded so that it can be used in the future if any need arises.

Project issues: It is found that issues that are faced during the progress of the project must be properly documented in the form of record (Meng and Boyd 2017).This is generally necessary as it mainly helps in providing proper idea about the risks that generally occur within the project so that the problems can be resolved in the initial stage of the project.

Progress update: It is quite necessary to record the weekly progress of the project properly for using the idea in future projects for avoiding issues that mainly occur due to schedule slippage and lack of budget management.

The methods that are utilized for closing out the project properly including the project documentation as well as sign off of the project are reflected below:

Steps Taken by Project Stakeholders in Clarifying Objectives and Scope

Customer meeting: In order to close out the project properly including documentation and sign off the project, it is quite necessary to undertake customer meeting in order to review the outcomes of the project. This step is generally needed for making sure that the project objectives and goals are met successfully (Zheng et al. 2016).

Confirms acceptance: This step is generally undertaken for making sure that the project goals as well as objectives are successfully achieved such that project documentation as well as sign off the project is performed effectively.

  The actions which are needed to be used for finalizing the entire project are mainly elaborated below:

Reconciliation of project budget: Cost budgeting is considered as one of the important step in project management that generally helps the stakeholders in determining the cost of the project. There are number of tools that must be used by the project managers to do the cost budgeting properly so that the project can be finalized easily.

Final project report:  Final project report is generally necessary for making sure that the entire project is properly finalized so that goals and objectives of the project can be achieved effectively (Niazi et al. 2016).

Archiving project records: Archiving project records are necessary in order to finalize the project effectively. This step is generally necessary for keeping track on the project effectively.

 The actual project outcomes are different with planned project outcomes. It is found that the actual project outcome differs from the planned project outcome due to number of challenges or issues that arises while executing the project including inappropriate project planning, improper management, lack of resources and more.

It helps in providing appropriate insight in relation to budgeting, resource allocation as well as risks of the project. The budget, resource allocation as well as project risks may vary in the actual project when it is compared with the planned project and this inaccuracy occurs due to inappropriate estimation and lack of experience of the project team members (Sunder 2016).

The success of the project can be evaluated with the help of the steps that are generally elaborated below:

Meeting project objectives: If the objectives of the project are met by the tea, for making sure that the undertaken project is quite successful.

Meeting the project scope: If the scope of the project is met by the project team members then it can be ensured that the undertaken project will be successful (Bjorvatn and Wald 2018).

Synopsis of Development of ERP System Project for Blach Construction Company

 The project that is undertaken helps in reflecting that it is quite essential to complete the project in the assumed deadline and budget for meeting the project objectives successfully. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the project manager to hire experienced team members so that they can be able to complete the work of the project effectively on time. In addition to this, the information as well as knowledge that is achieved from the project will guide me in my future projects.

The strategies that is used for ensuring the transition of the new project are generally elaborated below:

 Proper actions: It is quite necessary to take proper actions in order to make sure that the business is quite confident to utilize the procedure so that the transition of the new project can be done quite easily (Conforto and Amaral 2016).

Proper support: Proper support is quite necessary for transitioning the new project effectively.

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