Practices in Project Management Essay

AbstractThe St. Dismas Medical affection (SDMC) Assisted living(a) installing (ALF) take in was authorized to create a in the alto ramher assistance line to counteract a decline of yardbird performance. The jump objectives argon to build 100 light- and heavy-assist units in a standalone residential initiation with a sheltered continuative to SDMC by late-July 2001 and within an $11 jillion reckon. The event deliverables, constraints, assumptions, exclusions, and work crack-up grammatical look be outlined in the drift Scope Statement. Brainstorming and scenario analysis forget be handlingd in the assay strategy, mend terms-benefit analysis entrust be the primary animate being in pouch quality way.A flip work inclining and milestone inventory illustrates the critical path for the 102-week verbal expression phase. And, the $10 million budget is detailed by activity and behind to reconcile the double cost perspectives of squad members. switch proctoring entrust primarily use earned value metrics along with the Gantt chart and budget. Data bequeath be analyzed and reported weekly to the police squad, and significant deviations from the syllabus be subject to the control strategy milestone status reporting and coming upon with the mount of Trustees and submission of agitate requests to get the plan back on track. The plan leaveing conduct a formal closeout process to accept an audit, closeout meetings, a concluding report, closeout meetings, and record archival. stand Purpose and Justification everywhere the past few months, there has been a steady decline of the inpatient population at St. Dismas Medical Center (SDMC) due to the increased customs of seatbelts and bicycle/motorcycle helmets. A planning retreat was held to secern traffic opportunities and a solution was proposed to build an assisted living facility on the St. Dismas campus. The purpose of the interpret is to plan and implement Assisted Living Facilit y (ALF) as authorized by the Board of Trustees in May 1999. The confinement is being cutd in order to create a new service line to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the paumetropolis of medically- counseled and super specialized facilities available throughout the country and a maturation geriatric population.We barf that the ALF, the for-profit subsidiary of SDMC, forget bring in a net income amidst $9,000 and $12,000 per unit and a net cash proceed of well-nigh $1,500,000 annually. Both outpatient referrals and inpatient population are evaluate to increase. Furthermore, we confide that the construe leave alone resolve an tot uped benefit of strengthening the organizational focus on reimbursable preventive and wellness programs for healthier aging community. nominate RequirementsThe ALF determine Steering Committee has identified several effect at laws and processes that need to be met, including facility design and edifice in operation(p) needs for food function, housekeeping, and laging organic evolution of direct(a) policy and procedurescreation of an operating budgetcreation of payroll and bill systemscharacterization and set up of tele parleys and information system needs former marketing plans, with community and staff communications plans breeding of medical respectment woodpeckers for incoming residents designation of clinical services offeringsdevelopment of an organizational structureidentification of g everywherenment regulations and patience standards.Primary assure ObjectivesThe primary childbed objectives of the ALF protrude are as draws The cost objective is to fall in mingled with $8.5 to $11 million for the construction of the facility. The time objective was to have it off construction and open by July 2000, but was later revised to a duration of two years, with completion by late July 2001. The arena objectives are to build a standalone residential facility with a sheltered fellowship to S DMC that can access thecafeteria and hospital services, containing 100 units that accommodate up to cl single and couple residents with 15 to 30 heavy-assisted units and the remaining units light-assisted.Assumptions and ConstraintsThe followers is pretendedProject currency will be released in a seasonable manner.Project police squad members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and familiarity needed to complete the abide. The constraints are as followsThe construction cannot pay off until after the November 1999 city elections. The facility needs to open by late July 2001.Operational and administrative policies, procedures, and systems need to be created and regulations and standards need identification. upper-level RisksAs with all projects, there is a risk of running over budget, over schedule, and/or falling mulct on scope. There are several high-level risks for the ALF project. One particular area of concern was the short seven-mon th time period for the complex construction project, but that has been extended about an some some other year. Further, the organizational complexity is high with the number of people conglomerate across many functions and the decision-making body being the Board of Trustees. This complexity whitethorn lead to delays in decision-making.The project is also much larger than SDMC has clutchd in the past with only one team member having construction experience. The running(a) and administrative regulations and standards for construction and healthcare industries will be complex and have not yet been identified. Construction projects have a strong potential difference to impact the local ecology which will add a risk factor to the project. Further, weather poses a high-level risk to the project and may negatively impact the schedule by delaying supply deliveries and construction work. major Project milepostsMajor project milestones accommodate1. Facility design and construction2. Identification of operational needs3. Project and operating budget development4. Creation of payroll and accounting systems5. Define telecommunications needs and system frame-up6. Define information systems and system setup7. Creation of a preliminary exam marketing plan and communications package8. Organize major body politic breaking event9. Clinical Services10. Design of assessment tool for incoming residents11. Identification of demands for clinical services12. Development of facilitys management structure13. Identification of governmental regulations and manufacturing standardsPreliminary figure EstimateThe preliminary budget estimate for the accomplished project is between $8.5 and $11 million, which includes the land purchase, facility construction, facility furnishings, and construction of the sheltered connection from the assisted living facility to the Medical Center.Key StakeholdersIllustrated below is the appoint stakeholder analysis matrix, which demonstrates the key stakeholders, their levels of power and interest, and an engagement plan. The matrix is followed by a communications chart that outlines stakeholders, their responsibilities, and their communication needs.The project scope is to build a standalone residential facility for the purpose of providing assisted living services to up to 150 single and couple residents. The product will also include a sheltered connective structure that stick outs access to St. Dismas Medical Centers cafeteria and hospital services. The facility will contain 100 residential units with 15 30of those units that accommodate residents that need heavy assistance and the remaining units categorize as light-assisted. The cost to construct the facility should fall within $8.5 to $11 million range. Acceptance of the project requires that construction may not begin until after city elections in November 1999 and the facility must open to the reality by late July 2001.Project ConstraintsThe construction cannot begin until after the November 1999 city elections. The facility needs to open by late July 2001.Operational and administrative policies, procedures, and systems need to be created and regulations and standards need identification. The budget cap is $11 million.Project AssumptionsThere are several assumptions that may also impact the implementation of the project if they prove to be false (Project oversight Institute, 2013) Project funds will be released in a timely manner.Project team members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and experience needed to complete the project.Project Deliverablesfacility design and constructionoperational needs for food services, housekeeping, and staffing development of operational policy and procedurescreation of an operating budgetcreation of payroll and accounting systemscharacterization and set up of telecommunications and information system needs preliminary marketing plans, with community and staff comm unications plans development of medical assessment tools for incoming residents designation of clinical services offeringsdevelopment of an organizational structureidentification of government regulations and industry standards.Project ExclusionsItems that are not included in the scope includedesign and construction of a place lot or storedesign, construction, and furnishings of patient entertainment and activity areas design, construction, and furnishings of exercise and fitness areas design and development of landscaping, walking paths, and gardening areas design, construction, and furnishings of private visiting areas design, construction, and furnishings of salon and barber services area design, construction, and furnishings of dining areaProject Risk and Quality counseling dodgingProject Risk dodgeThe project team has held a brainstorming session with a group of consultants in several applicable areas of expertise to identify an exhaustive list of risks by questioning what could go wrong with proletariats. The scenario analysis regularity has also been utilized to identify, analyze, and prioritize risks from high-to-low impact. This method entails utilizing critical thinking skills to realize events that may likely impact the project ( mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton, 2011). Additionally, the work breakdown structure (WBS) and project profile were scrutinized to further identify highly probable risks as suggested by Mantel et al. (2011). The following highly probable risks have been identifiedBad weather curt staffingInadequate budgetProject management team inexperienceRegulatory and industry requirementsCost estimation errorsComplex organizational structure and decision-making process massive set of stakeholders that have yet to weigh in on the project Environmental impact from constructionProject communication and coordination issuesInadequate deliverables (e.g. set garage)Inadequate time scheduleThe strategy for handling risks is to develop a risk response plan as advised by Mantel et al. (2011). The risk response plan will include contingency plans to handle events that do happen, with more than one contingency plan and supporting system of logic charts developed for high-impact risk. Furthermore, risk identification and response planning will be ongoing through the project duration.Project Quality Management StrategyThe ALF project quality management strategy is to follow the Project Management Institute (PMI) (2013) guidelines identify quality requirements, document compliance levels of quality requirements, realize quality assurance auditing, and control quality by taking action to address poor quality measurements. Inevitably assortments will have to be made to manage events or unsatisfactory quality results. The ALF Project change management strategy is to include provisions in the original contract to accommodate change as suggested by Mantel et al. (2011). An integrated change control process will be create d and implemented, as advised by PMI (2013) to adulterate project risks through holistic analysis of proposed changes. This process will outline how change requests will be reviewed, approved or denied, and how those changes will impact other aspects of the project (policies, documents, plans, etc.) (Project Management Institute, 2013). Two tools that will be used to manage quality arecost-benefit analysis, which differentiates the cost of the proposed change to the expected benefit. cause-and-effect diagrams which utilizes the questionwhy to discover the root cause of a occupation in order to correct it. Cost-benefit analysis will be utile in presenting problems and their possible changes to the decision-making body in order for them to fully assess their options and identify the solution that best suits their requirements. The cause-and-effect diagram will be safe in recognizing the true problem that needs to be addressed. Finding a solution for the root cause will economic a id the team bar unnecessary costs, time, efforts, and rework in addressing the wrong issues.Construction Phase Milestone ScheduleBelow is the work list and milestone schedule for the construction phase of the St. Dismas Assisted Living Facility project. The critical path (B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-K-L-O-P-S-T) is illustrated in green on the milestone schedule. The project is scheduled to be completed in 102 weeks, just shy of two years. The assumptions for this schedule are the following The milestone schedule will be approved by the Board of Trustees. The project will begin in August 1999 after action plans are submitted. Project funds will be released in a timely manner.Project team members and resources will be available as needed. Contractors will have the skills and experience needed to complete the project.Project cypherBelow are the summary-level budget and detailed budget for the St. Dismas ALF Project. The assumption from examining the provided cost information chart is that the Ch ief Operating Officer and the Construction Project Manager provided the estimates for the facility design and construction activities of the ALF project, and upper management laid the administrative and contingency budgets, and both did so honestly. Bottom-up budgeting utilizes the work breakdown structure in a way that cost estimates of each activity are completed by the team members obligated for carrying out those tasks, while top-down budgeting produces estimates based on the judgments and experiences of top managers (Mantel et al., 2011). The combination use in this project of top-down and bottom-up budgeting is ideal, according to Mantel et al. (2011). The advantage of top-down budgeting is that it generally has a high degree of accuracy, although it can include considerable miscalculations for low-level activities bottom-up budgeting is opposite in that it provides accuracy for low-level activities and the disaster of considerable miscalculations for high-cost activities ( Mantel et al., 2011).The detailed budget is also divided by task and expected quarter of expenditure to address the multiple perspectives of cost between the project manager (PM), the accountant, and the controller. Mantel et al. (2011) point out that the PM is concerned with commitments made against the budget, accountants track costs as they are incurred, and controllers are responsible for the organizations cash flow. Dividing costs by activity and quarter allow all three parties to understand their relationship to the project. In this budget, the batch of the detail outlines only one deliverable from the projects scope statement and work breakdown structurefacility design and construction. The other deliverables are clumped into the central and direct administrative costs categories.Although the budget may sufficiently cover the costs of the labor that needs to go into the other deliverables (identifying needs and regulations, and developing plans, systems, and budgets), it ma y insufficiently cover the costs for other aspects of some of the deliverables, such(prenominal) as setting uptelecommunications and information systems, and organizing a major ground-breaking event. Furthermore, consideration should be given to the fact that project exclusions from the Project Scope Statement, such as design and construction of a parking area and activity and entertainment areas, are not factored into this budget. The current budget totals $10,000,000, which is still $1,000,000 under the original estimated budget and leaves some room to add deliverables if necessary.Project Summary BudgetProject Monitor and Control StrategyThe ALF Project monitor and control strategy is as follows. The project team will continuously monitor schedule gird via the Gantt chart and monitor budget appear via the detailed budget. Monitoring these will give the team a comparison of the time period against the actual plan. However, the team will utilize earned value (EV) metrics to not o nly compare the current situation with the plan, but also consider the actual progress at the point of evaluation (Mantel at al., 2011). The data from these control tools will be collected and analyzed weekly and reported to the team on a weekly basis as stated in the communication chart. The project management team will assess if any deviations from the plan are significant enough to put on control measures. If the project management team feels that intervention isnecessary, data (including the project milestone status report), assessments, and suggestions will be extendd with the Board of Trustees, and change requests will be submitted with the aim to reduce the differences between the plan and the actual circumstances.Earned value metrics is the ALF Project preferred monitoring tool for the purposes of monitoring and controlling. Earned value metrics allow the team to compare the plan with the actual progress at any given point in the project, to see how efficiently our schedul e and costs are being maintained, and providing an estimate of cost if the project is continue at the current rate (Mantel et al., 2011). Utilizing a go/no-go control, such as the milestone status report, allows us to compare the project take (using milestones as checkpoints) to the existing standard, assess what are needs are in terms of physical assets, human resources, and/or finances for particular tasks, and employ the necessary steps to meet those needs in order to get the project schedule, budget, and/or scope aligned with the plan (Mantel et al., 2011).Project CloseoutThe ALF Project will conduct a formal project closeout primarily to help the organization improve its project management skills on future project (Mantel et al., 2011, p. 273). The formal project closeout will allow SDMC to understand project mistakes, accomplishments, performance, and project team and management efficiencies and deficiencies, and document these in the organizational knowledge base. Furthermor e, a formal close out deals with all those involved in the project in a way that has positive impact on esprit de corps and trust. The organization and the project managers show they are reliable when they finish what they start, communicate to each surgical incision that it is time to finalize their project activities, and deal with project staff and their reassignments in a tactful manner. The project closeout will follow the suggestion of Mantel et al. (2011).After the project manager ensures that all project work is complete, the project must go through the project betrothal phase. Acceptance needs to be gained from the Board of Trustees, and project management team, and formally recorded. A detailed audit will be performed to assess the progress and performance of the projects plan through examination of its methodology and procedures, its records, properties, inventories, budgets, expenditures, progress, and soon (Mantel et al., 2011, p. 275). Audit findings as well as the c omplete project history will be written in a final report. The final report will include the project failures, successes, and lessons learned.The final report will also document the project activities and management techniques, the fixture of the organizations assets, and recommendations for improvement. The final report will be distributed to stakeholders upon completion. Closeout meetings with contractors and department heads (financial, legal, purchasing, organizational, facility, etc.) will be head to notify them of project termination, provide rush to clear the project activities in which they are responsible, and address final issues. A closeout meeting with project personnel will be conducted to address reassignments and stress, and provide closure. Finally, the project books will be closed, organizational assets will be updated, and records will be archived.ReferencesMantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., & Sutton, M. (2011). Project Management in Practice (4th ed). Hoboken John Wiley & Sons. Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of experience (PMBOK guide) (5th ed). Newtown Square PMI Publications.