Project Proposal – Execution, Control, and Closure

Project Proposal – Execution, Control, and Closure

Provide a brief summary of your chosen project.

The project will focus on the production and marketing of natural hair shampoo for the African American market. Though the female customer is the ideal target, the product will also look into tapping the male customers’ market. The shampoo will consist of all-natural products to differentiate itself from other products in the hair market. The selling point of the shampoo will be its ability to give a soft and silky look to natural African hair. It will also have an additional aspect of cleansing and treating hair. The shampoo will come in various forms, including those for dry scalps and sensitive scalps for children and the elderly. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you. Our team of experts is ready to help.

The project will involve a number of key steps, the first being collecting data from target consumers on what specifics to expect from shampoo. This information will be incorporated into the production of the first prototype. The prototype will be tested on volunteers. Because the product will be 100% natural plant extracts, it will be safe to try it out on volunteers. The feedback that will be collected from these volunteers will be used to refine the product, including the shampoo packaging. Once the final product is ready, it will be registered with the Bureau of Certification of Commercial Products. The marketing process for the final product will be conducted at various sales outlets, and advertising will be conducted using different media. Once the product has been assimilated into the market, then the project will come to a close, even as production and distribution continue.

Examine your project’s greatest challenges (at least three) and provide a recommendation for addressing each of the challenges.

The first challenge would be keeping the team members on the same page. The project will involve different team members, including some in the raw material sourcing, production of the shampoo, and data collection from the customers, marketing team, advertising team, and sales team. Each team will be working on one aspect of the project at different times and levels. Ensuring that all persons are aware of what each is doing is a major challenge. Additionally, when a team member gets a new idea that can enhance the project, they’ll have to wait until the next team meeting to share the said ideas, yet prompt action may bring better results. To resolve this issue, the project will incorporate electronic media and, more specifically, ProofHub. This tool will allow for all conversations by all team members to be viewed on a single page and avoid long threads of email. It will also have a calendar view that will allow for team members to view upcoming events and prepare adequately for them. The tool will also enable each person to know who is working on what part and will notify everyone on the team when a task moves from one stage to another; hence, everyone will be on the same page.

The second challenge would be having unrealistic deadlines for the various tasks. Unforeseen twists are likely to happen, such as not getting enough respondents in the first round prior to sample production. Another would be delays in volunteers sending their feedback after using the sample product. These delays will impact the project schedule, and deadlines will most likely be missed. There is also the possibility of the advertising and marketing team facing delays because of having to work with external partners such as media and sales outlets. To counter these challenges, a two-pronged solution will be taken. The first will be to give the respondents a specific deadline within which they should have given their honest reviews of the sample product. A gift voucher of $5 will be given to any person who gives their feedback within the specified time. The second will be to have the advertising team pitch for the product while it is in the sample production stage. Doing so will ensure that by the time the product is ready, the team will have secured a spot in the different advertising arenas.

The third challenge would be risk management. Although the raw materials will be all-natural and likely to be very safe for use, it is also possible that a sample user may be allergic to one or more of the ingredients. There is no way to tell who and what can cause allergic reactions. This is a possible risk that can lead to litigation. To avoid such a scenario, sample users will be informed of all the ingredients in the product. They will also be requested to sign an informed consent form that shows they agree to the terms and that they will be liable for any reaction or results of the sample product while agreeing not to bring up any form of litigation against the product.

Examine how you manage your project performance via earned value management (EVM). Identify at least three key EVM metrics you will use for your project.

An Earned Value Management chart will be used to plot the monetary value against the time spent on the project. The three baselines will need to be planned for the EVM to be effective. The three baselines include planned value, actual costs, and earned value. The planned value will show how the money will be spent on a timeline to the created deliverables and in a specific timeframe. The second is the actual cost, which will show how much will actually be spent, and this will be drawn from the actual invoices. The earned value will show the amount of planned value that actually got delivered on a given day (4).

Also, it is possible for there to be a lack of clarity on when a value is actually earned. This is because final deliverables may get approval weeks or even months after their creation. Hence, it will be important to have definitions that are clear on what is deemed as ‘done.’ This will also apply to Actual costs. Some of the costs may add to the earned value on diverse variables and in the time span of the project. Hence, a challenge may arise on their correct redistribution. Also, the timing and accuracy of the tracking system will have an impact on the period and accuracy of the analysis of the earned value.

The three metrics that will be used are cost variance, schedule variance, and cost performance index (3). Cost variance is the earned value minus the actual costs. This will show the deviation of the project from the planned budget at a given time. A negative will imply that there is more spending than naturally planned, while a positive result will indicate that the project is performing under budget.

The schedule variance is earned value less the planned value. This will show the project’s deviation from its schedule. A negative will indicate that the project is behind schedule, while a positive result will show that the project is ahead of schedule. This is because the cost of a project is associated directly with all the tasks that are on the schedule. The costs can take place prorated, immediately, or on a planned date at the end of the task.

The cost performance index is the earned value divided by the actual costs (4). This index will state how much will be spent to earn a value of 1$. An index that is higher than1 will mean that $1 of value is earned for less than $1 of actual costs.

Discuss your plan to properly close your project when it is over.

According to Carroll (2012), there are seven steps to take when closing the project; formal transfer of deliverables, confirmation of the completion of the project, review of all documentation, release of resources, conducting a post-mortem, archiving documentation, and celebrating. The team will go through all the deliverables and ensure that they have been completed fully and handed over to the heads of the relevant departments (product innovation and sales departments). Next, every person on the team needs to be on the agreement that the project is indeed complete. It will also call for the project stakeholders to agree that the project is delivered on all parts, as stipulated. Documentation will be reviewed to ensure that every party has been compensated as earlier agreed. Team members will be released formally from the project so that they are free to work on other projects. A post-mortem will involve calculating the performance of the project in terms of quality, schedule, and cost. The post-mortem will be a learning opportunity for future project improvements. This will be documented, including an improvement plan, feedback, and performance measures. All documents, including the project plan, schedule, scope outline, and post-mortem, will be archived for future reference. Lastly, a small celebration end-of-project party will be held. This is important because appreciating the team and keeping it happy will increase the chances of working together in the future, building on past successes, and becoming a strong working unit that is effective (1).

Sources

Carroll, J. (2012). Effective project management in easy steps. Southam: In Easy Steps

Fleming, Q., & Koppelman, J. M. (2009). The two most useful earned value metrics: the CPI and the TCPI. Cost Engineering, 51(3), pp.16-18.

Pajares, J., & Lopez-Paredes, A. (2011). An extension of the EVM analysis for project monitoring: The Cost Control Index and the Schedule Control Index. International Journal of Project Management, 29(5), pp. 615-621.

Fleming, Q. W., & Koppelman, J. M. (2010). Earned value project management. Project Management Institute, pp. 8-11.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Project Proposal – Execution, Control, and Closure

Note: This is the third of three assignments which, as a whole, cover all aspects of the project life cycle relevant to your selected project.

Now, it is time for you to discuss your project’s challenges (e.g., risks), performance management plan (e.g., earned value management), and proposed plan for closing the project when it is done.

Write a 4–6-page paper in which you define the execution, control, and closure aspects of your chosen project. In your paper, you must:

Provide a brief summary of your chosen project.
Examine your project’s greatest challenges (at least three) and provide a recommendation for addressing each of the challenges.
Examine how you manage your project performance via earned value management (EVM). Identify at least three key EVM metrics you will use for your project.
Discuss your plan to properly close your project when it is over.
Use at least three quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as quality resources.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

Develop a process for measuring the progress of a project, providing oversight, coordinating project closure, and determining project effectiveness.