Reference no: EM13652010

CIS8010_Assignment 3 SPECIFICATIONSDescription Marks out of Wtg(%) Due dateAssignment 3 (MS Project) 100 35% See the study scheduleThis written assignment is to be electronically submitted through the EASE system inthe CIS8010 Study Desk. Hardcopy or email submission will NOT be accepted andwill NOT be acknowledged. (You MUST use a plagiarism application to ensure that thepart is plagiarism free)Student requirementsThe objective of this assignment is to assess your understanding of basic project managementconcepts and your proficiency in using project management software to produce projectcharts and reports. In particular, the assignment focuses on the following projectmanagement knowledge areas in the PMBOK: project integration management, project scopemanagement, project time management and project resource management.ScenarioCompany XYZ is in the software games application development and has been aware thattheir production of a popular game application will not continue to satisfy consumer demands.This application has seen an increase of about 10 – 12% for the past five years. Currently thegames are sold as individual packs. However, sales forecast has indicated that this will notcontinue due to other products emerging in the market, customer preferences, marketdistribution and price competition.The CEO had asked an internal team to review current processes and propose changes, alongwith upgrades to software to meet the demands for the future. The proposed changes includewriting new games to suit young audiences, licensing options, access to games throughmobile devices and smartphones. The CEO also wanted an upgrade to equipment used todevelop software applications as well as test them, and a redesign of the processes in softwaredevelopment processes with solid metrics relating to the increase in customer markets.This has necessitated XYZ in specific anticipated changes such as team composition,procurement of skills to write software to the mobile and smartphone markets, distribution oftheir applications through telephone companies, and providing ongoing support for access.The above specific changes also warranted XYZ to think about their software teamcomposition, marketing team composition, finance team composition, game writing processaspects, and customer care team composition. XYZ is keen to make changes to their HRcomposition as well as software writing processes, and would like to investigate, if thesechanges were made to the organisational process, whether they would be able to manage thoseprocess changes.The Project PlanXYZ would like to see an outline of a project plan with tentative timelines and cost ranges sothat serious consideration can be given to the process changes. The project plan that XYZwould like to see should include included identification of needs for increased production, aswell as identification of affected departments and/or processes if the increase in productionwere carried out.XYZ knew from experience that changes to software writing (specific to games) wouldimpact other areas. For example, procurement had a set budget for hiring software engineers.The expenditure necessary for software libraries that were not ready to be used in softwarewriting would impact cash flow and require consideration as to how this can be handled asprocurement of software takes time. Further, additional vendors may be sub-contracted in thesoftware development, as XYZ doesn’t have all the skills required. Should the current vendorsbe unable to meet increased demands, then alternative vendors needed to be in place beforeany supply issues arose.So, XYZ is keen to see a proper project plan for identifying the stakeholders and how theywould proceed to gather the data necessary to accurately document the change managementprocesses in order to develop new gaming software. The plan that XYZ is keen to see shouldinclude a detailed list of requirements to achieve the market share, and list HR, software,hardware and other resources.XYZ is also interested in the identification of potential risks and strategies for managing themshould they come to fruition. They wanted to be sure that once they finalise the processchanges for gaming software development, they could accommodate potential changes toother processes. They knew that changing one process would likely have a domino effectthroughout the company. For example, during one of the scenario planning sessions, theproject team found that if procurement was unable to fulfil the skills needs of softwarewriting, without a back up vendor in place, there would potentially be a disaster. As XYZ iskeen to advertise their process changes and advertise that a new game is going to be releasedto the market on a certain date, this would be unacceptable to XYZ and would ultimatelycause customer dissatisfaction, which could lead to a loss of business to competitors.XYZ would like to see a proper breakdown of skill and other procurement options, andseveral milestones, to allow the company to move forward with working with new processesand upgrades to resources without interrupting the current schedule of activities. At eachmilestone, there were several tasks for measuring progress and comparing it to expectedresults and baselines. Assessments were completed regularly to ensure the current plan heldtrue to the objectives. At any point during the project, if the assessments showed deficienciesfrom the objectives, then an evaluation and correction strategy would be required. The WorkBreakdown Structure should also include an induction and training time to get individuals upto speed.The Risk Management Plan should include contingencies should current employees beincapable of delivering the new game software and performing their role in a timely fashion.Part of the contingency plan was to use employees who adapted quickly to the new vision andmix with other employees in the organization. An integrated team concept, includingmentoring, will be put in place to assist people in getting up to speed on new vision.The current status of the company is that XYZ is selling about 250,000 games (the mostpopular game of their product line) per quarter. At the time of the undertaking of the processimprovement initiative, client demand had just reached 240,000, and demand forecastindicates a potential decline by 30% half-annually over the next 3 years.The directive from the executives is to pitch the sales of the new game at 300,000 for the firstquarter in 2016. Based on current projections, the company would experience a five-yeartimeline before having to undertake another increase in production to satisfy growing clientdemand. At that point, if client demand continued to increase, the company would be in abetter position to invest in another production site in order to meet demands after the five yearmark.Additionally, in the current production line there was, on average, a 3.6% defect rate insoftware produced. One of the directives specific to this project was to attempt to reduce thisdefect rate by at least half within the first two years.The following were discovered during the current process analysis:1. Capacity for procurement was limited due to cash flow and budgetary issues, as wellas storage. Any new process needed to take this into consideration once productionincreased and would have to allow for a smooth flow between skill procurement andproduct manufacturing and distribution.2. It became apparent that once the number of game sales increased, demands onwarehousing and delivery would increase accordingly. A plan was put in place tochange warehousing and delivery processes to reduce the strain on these functions.3. The project is allowed to run slightly (8 weeks) over the projected timeline, butshould remain within budget. The increase in the timeline may result from anunderestimate of the skill required, procuring this skill, contractual obligations etc.4. If the decrease in the defect rate was .06%, then this will significantly exceed the goalof 1.8%, thus causing an increase in storage and distribution. Although this is notanticipated in a contingency plan it will not cause the executives to be unhappy. It is agood problem.Your task is to develop a project case for XYZ within the above scenario. If any parts of thescenario in unclear, you are allowed make necessary assumptions, but the assumptions shouldbe realistic. Your task is to develop a project management document to provide an initialidea and scope as to the cost in procuring various resources and timelines. Yoursubmission should include the following documents:1. A complete project plan (PERT & GANTT Chart)2. A Time Schedule for procuring the resources to meet 2016 implementation3. A resource document detailing the type of resources required, cost to procure the resourceand the involvement of the resource in the development4. A set of potential risks that you are anticipating in implementing the systemThe above documents should clearly be developed using a project tool that is available to you.You are required to state your assumptions clearly and package the documents in a professionalreport to the top management for their consideration.Report Submission:Your report submission should be in four parts. The first part should provide a comprehensiveanalysis of your research. This is a simple document, written with supporting arguments as tovarious aspects highlighted, includes proper references etc. You will base this report on yourresearch conducted. The report should be contained within 2000 words. This report is pitchedto the management board and you are asked to use simple language as board members aredrawn from both technical and non-technical domains.The second part of the report contains the project aspects. The four key aspects required forthe development should be explained and properly annotated.The third part of your report should highlight the set of anticipated risks and you plan tomitigate these risks.The final part is the development of a complete project plan through PERT & GANTT ChartOther Report Submission Requirements:1. Remember state your assumptions clearly prior to developing the above documents andyour modeling.2. Only PDF format of the final report is to be submitted through EASE system availablethrough UConnect. (All other mode of submissions are considered as assignment is notsubmitted)OTHER REQUIREMENTSMarks can be deducted for the following errors:1. Problems with format and structure of report2. Lack of referencing (Harvard referencing format is the acceptable standard)3. Spelling, grammar and expression error4. Indication of plagiarism/collusion5. Inappropriate use of in-text references6. Late Submission as per USQ policies and proceduresPlease use the following naming convention when saving your digital document:Student last name_assignment #_CIS8010_Student USQ IDFor example, the first assignment for CIS8010 submitted by Poul Moller, student #005890420163. If I (Mr. Poul Moller) were uploading this assessment item, file would benamed as follow:Moller_A1_CIS8010_005890420163.doc