Reference no: EM132278054

Replies: Address the following questions in your responses to at both Post. Each Post must be 200 words each.. Respond in a pleasant, kind and professional manner:

· What did you learn from your classmate's thread?

· What additional questions do you have after reading the thread?

· What clarification do you need regarding the thread?

· How do your recommendations compare to your classmate's recommendations?

· What have you learned from others' responses?

· What were the most compelling points from the interaction with your fellow students?

· How did your participation in this discussion affect your opinion and recommendations for this scenario?

· What still needs to be clarified after the discussion with your classmates?

· Refrain from pointing out grammatical or APA errors.

Post # 1

Discussion Board 3: Scope and Work Breakdown Structure of Potential Project

A clearly defined scope is an absolute must for successful project completion. Defining and adhering to the project scope ensures accurate delivery. According to Gido, Clements and Baker (2018), "The project scope defines what needs to be done.

It is all the work that must be done to produce all the project deliverables, satisfy the sponsor or customer that all the work and deliverables meet the requirements and acceptance criteria, and accomplish the project objective" (p. 4-2). Expanding on the project scope is the work breakdown structure. This is a hierarchical organization of the work to be done, broken into specific deliverables. When these items are detailed, clearly defined, and agreed to by both the customer and the vendor organization, the likelihood of success is high.

The Scope

Hassan, Ahmad and Zuhaira (2018), say "scope definition of a project is one of the key metrics to determine success or failure of software projects. Many software problems can be traced back to poorly defined and/or incomplete scope definitions" (p. 220). In an agile project environment, the scope and by extension the WBS is likely to change more so than in a traditional project environment.

According to Amjad, Ahmad, Saba, Anjum, Manzoor, Balubaid and Malik (2018), "Scope definition in agile is a difficult task due to the flexible nature of project scope. It occurs iteratively in agile projects" (p. 5822). With that said, the initial project scope statement for the project is as follows:

Diebold Nixdorf will develop and implement a software package to enable self-healing of the enhanced note acceptor within the US Bank ATM fleet, which will prompt the device to reset and run specific motor sequences to clear hard and soft faults caused by network and user interface related issues. Software development will begin January 2, 2019, engineer and customer testing will occur periodically throughout the project culminating with a pilot deployment, and the finished product will be rolled out to the entire ATM fleet on August 1, 2019.

With this initial project scope statement and the following Work Breakdown Structure, work may commence toward the accomplishment of reducing enhanced note acceptor service call volume.

The Work Breakdown Structure

According to Siami-Irdemoosa, Dindarloo and Sharifzadeh (2015), "A comprehensive, efficient work breakdown structure (WBS) can prove pivotal within project management planning processes by partitioning projects into stages, deliverables and work packages" (p. 85).

Zecheru and Olaru (2016) also define a WBS as, "[an] organization tree, which presents a subdivision of effort required to achieve a specific objective, such as a program, project and contract" (p. 62). In creating the WBS for this project (also available in Microsoft Project format), three phases have emerged, each with a final milestone.

Phase One

The first phase consists of software development. This phase includes the initial deliverable of a current production environment image loaded on an ATM in the test lab. The second deliverable of this phase is the interface software package for Windows to XFS to device communication.

The third deliverable for this phase is a completed remotely-deliverable packet which includes the specific automated commands necessary to make the machine take the necessary self-healing actions. The milestone for phase one coincides with the beginning of phase two. The coding team accomplishes this by delivering the complete software package to the in-house testing team.

Phase Two

Phase two kicks off with the acceptance of the software package from the coding team by the test engineers. The first deliverable of phase two is the initial testing report. The engineers produce this report after loading the software layer onto the production imaged machine in the lab and testing for function.

The second deliverable is the customer test report. The testing team develops this report after the image is tested in the customer test facility and remotely pushed to a test machine in a lab environment. The project reaches the phase two milestone after the engineering, testing and customer teams complete any necessary rework and successfully test in a lab environment.

Phase Three

Phase three begins with the testing of the image in the live environment. The first deliverable is for the pre-selected pilot machines to be remotely flashed with the new image. Upon successful reimaging, the machines will be monitored for fifteen days.

The second deliverable is a pre-post analysis of the pilot group, with report presented to both engineering teams and the customer executive team. The third deliverable is the complete rollout to the entire production environment. Three separate remote pushes between the hours of 0200 and 0400 en awill accomplish this goal. When the new self-healing image is on all machines, the final project milestone will be complete.

Biblical Integration and Conclusion

Luke 14:28 (English Standard Version) says "For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" Planning is critical to the success of every project, agile or traditional, and defining the scope is the beginning of that planning process.

The end goal must be clearly defined in order to create the work breakdown structure necessary to reach that goal. Though the WBS may be more variable in agile projects than traditional, it is still of vital necessity in order to avoid excessive cost overrun and potential project failure.

Proverbs 24:27 (English Standard Version) also speaks to the importance of early preparation, saying "Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house." Scope definition and WBS creation are the foundation of the project, and with proper attention given early in the process, greater opportunity for success is created.

References

Amjad, S., Ahmad, N., Saba, T., Anjum, A., Manzoor, U., Balubaid, M. A., & Malik, S. U. R. (2018). Calculating completeness of agile scope in scaled agile development. IEEE Access, 6, 5822-5847. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2765351

Gido, J., Clements, J., & Baker, R. (2018). Successful project management (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. SKU: 2110771.

Hassan, I. u., Ahmad, N., & Zuhaira, B. (2018). Calculating completeness of software project scope definition. Information and Software Technology, 94, 208-233. doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2017.10.010

Siami-Irdemoosa, E., Dindarloo, S. R., & Sharifzadeh, M. (2015). Work breakdown structure (WBS) development for underground construction.Automation in Construction, 58, 85-94.

Zecheru, V., & Olaru, B. G. (2016). Work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management. Revista De Management Comparat International, 17(1), 61.

Post #2

Managing the scope of a project is the most important function of a project manager. Project scope management can be further sub-divided into its components (Khan, 2006).

Managing the scope of a project is made easy by leveraging software that is capable of tracking changes that often occur on preplanning stages such estimating and managing costs (Morejon, 2006). To that point, the scope of the project will be positioned around leveraging the current enthusiasm for one of the most prevalent shoe brands worldwilde--Air Jordan.

This latest trend will be used as an invaluable method to educate the 12th graders about the necessity of dressing professionally as they embark upon their future endeavors. Equally important, this project will recognize male high school sensiors for their academic and civic accomplishments. The metamorphic swap of a pair of Air Jordan sneakers for a pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes, fundamentally signifes the student's preparedness to receive the essential progressions of life to come.

Senior applicants must have a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 and be an active participant in no less than two community/extracurricular activities. In addition, the 12th grade students are required to submit an 750 word essay on the importance of education.

From a budgeting standpong, the total project obligation is $12,280.00. Funds will be procured to purchase and remit the number of scholarships, Allen Edmonds shoes, and the catering retainer for the awards banquet. Moreover, sponsors will donate the remaining items (dress socks, personalized messenger bag, and shoe maintence kit).

As an outreach project, the organization will collbaorate with local high schools in Birmingham, AL. This out-of-the box project is envisioned to present ten (10) Senior male students with a pristine pair of Allen Admonds dress should, accompanying dress socks, a personalized messenger bag, and a shoe maintenance kit to assist winners with preserving their latest addition.

Moreover, the young men will be awarded one $1,000.00 scholarship to aid in their tuition expenses while attending a fully accredited college or university of their choice. All funds will be sent directly to the student's school of choice upon verification of enrollment and class schedule.

Essentially, the overarching objective is to inform the young men about the necessity of dressing professionally, as well as instilling the nugget of knowledge that dressing for success is indispensable. By presenting a pair of Allen Edmonds dress shoes, coupled with a monetary scholarship, the goal is to propel them into their purpose in life.

The work breakdown structure is at the heart of project's planning efforts, as it de?nes the basic project management structure that provides the framework for development and maintenance of the scope and more (Bolles, 2006).

All components of scope management interact with each other through the WBS which consists of a hierarchical breakdown of the project into its constituent elements. In essencce, having a detailed WBS means having a large number of levels (Khan, 2006).

This allows for more accurate management of the project. Specifically, it categorizes this project's responsibilities and offers an outline designed to organize and manage the designated tasks.

The WBS can be presented in graphical form making possible an overview of the entire process (Zecheru, 2016). Furthermore, the decomposition of the project's deliverables is highlighted at a more granular level to include the following hierarchal tiers:

? Plan

? Marketing

? Fundraising

? Presentations

? Applications

? Brunch

? Awards Ceremony

(Please reference WBS graph in the attached document)

References

Bolles, D. L., & Hubbard, D. G. (2006). 14. Effective and Efficient Work Breakdown Structures: 14.1 What Is Work Structuring? In Power of Enterprise-Wide Project Management (pp. 162-165). American Management Association International.

Khan, A. (2006). Project Scope Management. Cost Engineering, 48(6), 12-16.