Project Management Methodologies
According to Statista, an online statistics service provider, The DIY (Do-It-Yourself) market is one of Europe’s largest. For the last seven years, Manley’s has been part of the growth, with its selling point having been the fact it employs designers and, through subcontractors, offers guaranteed installation and quality. As a DIY specialist, Manley’s objective is to help its customers achieve designer houses at an affordable price. Manley’s also offers a range of furniture and kitchen and bathroom designs. The enterprise plans for expansion, with all project activities slotted, are expected to be carried out in three months, an equivalent of 12 weeks.
Project Management Methodologies
The recommended project management methodology to carry out the scheduled activities for upgrading the web page would be the Agile Methodology to upgrade the static web page dynamic. This is because the activities scheduled would require frequent testing and adaptation. The methodology is suited as it allows quick action collaboration, and it is data-driven (Ochodek and Kopczyńska, 2019, p. 16-17). This is important as data is required for the stores. With the web expected to bring online traffic, Agile methodology gives the flexibility to adapt to occurring changes, especially to customer preferences.
The establishment of the Management Information System is requirement intensive, and therefore, the Waterfall methodology is best suited for this project. Waterfall management makes it possible to sequentially collect and analyze requirements, design the system, choose the approach, and implement the system (Pedersen, 2013). As the Management Information Systems focus on documentation, the Waterfall methodology, which emphasizes requirements, has the potential to deliver better results.
The Hybrid methodology is best suited for the creation of loyalty programs, a complex exercise that requires flexibility and structure. This methodology will give the enterprise the opportunity to experiment with the ideal idea of the end product, work within a reasonable budget, and achieve collaboration with the clients beyond the design and planning phase.
The leasing of space for a 5th store will require doing a survey of the target market and the economic returns, security, and accessibility of the physical location of the space. The Critical Path methodology is best suited for this phase of the project as it allows for the investigation of such critical factors for decision-making.
The evaluation phase is a critical one to assess the progress of the projects. The Integrated Project Management methodology is suitable for this process as it emphasizes accountability and transparency (Vanhoucke, Coelho, Batselier, 2016, p 6-21). The method will ensure the clear sharing of processes across the projects.
Feasibility of projects
The project’s feasibility from the best to the lowest ranking would be as follows: Upgrading the static web page to dynamic, establishing the Management Information System, leasing space for the 5th store, creating a loyalty program, and the evaluation. The feasibility analysis is based on cost-effectiveness and returns on investment. The upgrade of the web page to a dynamic one will give Manley’s a competitive advantage as more clients look for solutions online.
Gannt’s Chart
Manley’s Expansion Project | ||||||||||||
Project Lead | ||||||||||||
S/N | PROJECT | Status | SUBDIVISION | TIME SCALE | ||||||||
u | Planned | MONTH 1 | MONTH 2 | MONTH 3 | DONE | |||||||
WK 1 – WK 2 | WK 3 – WK 4 | WK 1 – WK 2 | WK 3 – WK 4 | WK 1 – WK 2 | WK 3 – WK 4 | |||||||
1 |
Upgrade web page to dynamic |
Embed appointement booking system | ||||||||||
Embed product ordering system | ||||||||||||
Update store information , list the fourth store | ||||||||||||
2 |
Establish Management Information System |
Designing of MIS | ||||||||||
Customer service plug installation | ||||||||||||
Operations plug installation | ||||||||||||
Stock plug installation | ||||||||||||
Testing and full deployment of MIS | ||||||||||||
3 |
Creation of loyalty program |
Subcontractin g for and the design of Manley’s Loyalty Card | ||||||||||
Creation of plan for 10% cash back program on every 3rd purchase made |
References
Ochodek, M. and Kopczyńska, S., 2018. Perceived importance of agile requirements engineering practices–A survey. Journal of Systems and Software, 143, pp.16-17.
Pedersen, M., 2013. A quantitative examination of critical success factors comparing agile and waterfall project management methodologies (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Statista. 2021. Topic: DIY and home improvement in Europe. [online] Available at: <https://www.statista.com/topics/3900/diy-and-home-improvement-in-europe/> [Accessed 9 May 2021].
Vanhoucke, M., Coelho, J. and Batselier, J., 2016. An overview of project data for integrated project management and control. Journal of Modern Project Management, 3(3), pp.6-21.
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Question
UNIT TWO: PROJECT MANAGEMENT
UNIT REFERENCE NUMBER: R/507/1271
UNIT LEVEL: LEVEL 5
Scenario
Manley’s is a family-owned home improvement specialist similar to Homebase. It has 4 stores around London and is planning an expansion. Like its competitors, it offered DIY solutions as well as a range of furniture, and kitchen and bathroom design. Its unique selling point is the fact it employs designers and, through subcontractors, offers guaranteed installation and workmanship such as plumbing, electrical, etc.
Due to these unique services which helps the customers to achieve designer houses at an affordable price, Manley’s enjoyed a financial success and a rapid growth. The first store opened 7 years ago, the 2nd store 3 years ago, the 3rd store 1 years ago and the 4th store opened last week. Several other stores are in the plans.However, Manley’s only online presence is a static web page showing the location of its 3 store (the page has not been updated for the 4th store yet), there is no possibility to either order online or book appointment with designers. Also now that there are 4 stores and several more in the pipelines, the owner’s son feel that it is time to have a Management Information System to improve customer service and operations through help managing stocks, personnel, subcontractors, marketing, customers data, etc. Finally the owner is planning on either creating a loyalty programmes or joining one such as Nectar card to give encourage repeat customers through benefits and promotions.
During the last board meeting, an experience manager saw the necessity to handle these tasks as projects and recommended to get a project consultant to help out. The board decided to hire you as the project consultant, as they want everything to be done within 3 months.
Task 1 of 2 – Project selection (AC1.1, 1.2, 1.3 & 1.4)
Instructions
Your first task is to
- Develop an overall Gantt chart of the various projects, including subdivision and a time-scale
- Write a short report, recommending a project management methodology for each project (and your reasons for your recommendation)
- In the same report, assess the feasibility of all the projects and decide on one to carry out first.
Delivery & Submission
- 1x Gannt’s Chart
- 1x Short Report (500 – 700 words)
Please note, it’s recommended that you use Ms Project but you’re free to use any other tool like https://www.ganttproject.biz/