1 Project Integration management
A project has many elements and areas which need to be managed. A project manager is responsible for performing various tasks ranging from making a budget, scheduling tasks, identifying risks, checking for quality, leading a team etc. to make the project successful. But all these tasks cannot be looked at in isolation; every element is linked to the other and to ensure smooth execution all tasks have to be coordinated. For this purpose, project integration management is important. All 5 phases of project i.e. initiation, planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing involve integration management. The processes involved in integration management are (Hales, 2003):
- Developing project charter
- Developing project management plan
- Direct and manage project work
- Change Control
- Closing project
2 Project charter & Project plan
The two important documents which are an outcome of the integration management are project charter and project plan. The project charter is a document that authorises the entire project; it broadly highlights the scope, goals and budget requirements. The charter also approves who the project manager is going to be and gives him the authority.
However, project plan is a more detailed document; it contains the plans from all the areas of the project like scheduling, budgeting, scope, risk, quality, procurement etc. It’s a consolidated document which coordinates all the departments in the project. Moreover, it sets the baselines against which the progress of the project can be measured (Hales, 2003). The project plan for this project is given below, the areas of focus will be:
- Scope Management
- Human Resource Management
- Procurement Management
- Quality Management
- Communications Management
2.1 About the project
The Mental health center is a private facility with the aim of rehabilitating and treating individual of all ages suffering with mental illnesses. In order to increase awareness among people and to reduce the hesitation people have in going to a psychiatrist they frequently organize events. The purpose of this project is to organize a 4 kilometer walk event for the organization to promote mental health awareness and early diagnosis. This will be an event for community members of all ages.
2.2 Project Scope
Project scope is one of the initial documents of the project, as it helps form an agreement between the project manager and the customer about the deliverables and objective of the project (Duncan, n.d.). The scope sets the boundaries for the entire project by outlining the main outcome, objectives and deliverables and is known as the blueprint of the project (Heldman, n.d.). It also helps the project manager in managing any change requests while avoiding scope creep i.e. when some tasks in a project utilize more resources than planned. A properly documented scope is necessary to avoid rework and low productivity which can result in project failure (Rouse, 2015).
The aim of this project is to plan and organize a successful race event which can help increase awareness about the cause. The event will be a 3-kilometer walk; there will also be food stalls and entertainment for the kids.
As the walk is a family event a suitable route would be chosen to ensure it is safe for all. The focus of the event will be to reach as many people of the community as possible and spread awareness through brochures and pamphlets distributed on the event.
Subject: Plan and execute a 4 kilometer walk
Start Date: 10/29/16
End Date: 1/30/17 (+-10 days)
Outcome: To organize a successful walk and get maximum participation from the community.
2.2.1 Goals:
Goals are broadly defined outcomes you want at the end of a project and are derived from the project statement (“Project”, 2012). The goals for this particular project are:
- To get around 3000 people to participate in the walk.
- To spread awareness among the people about mental illnesses.
- To do extensive marketing of the walk and the facility through social media so maximum people participate.
- To give people a chance of interacting with professional therapists.
- To attract media attention for the facility.
- Get the event approved by the concerned authorities by obtaining required permits.
2.2.2 Objectives:
To achieve each goal there are specific objectives, these are the performance measures. Objectives are time-bound, concrete and measurable and for this project they are (“Project”, 2012):
- Approval of dates and location must be obtained from local authorities in order to avoid any inconvenience.
- Make brochures, flyers and posters for marketing the event to generate required participation.
- Apply for all the required licences and permits.
- Local police authorities should be notified about the event to stop any traffic from coming on the walk route.
- The emergency services should be contacted to provide an ambulance and fire-truck on the race day
- · Local restaurants and super markets should be contacted to sponsor the food stalls.
2.2.3 Dependencies
These are the crucial activities that need to be completed in order to successfully complete the project.
- Getting the licenses and permits for the walk.
- A safe route is mapped for the walk.
- Forming a competent team for the event.
- Getting suitable number of sponsors for the food stalls.
2.2.4 Project Deliverables
Project deliverables are the end products of each activity in a project. They have specific deadlines, can be measured and can be tangible or intangible (Burley, 2016). The deliverables for this project are:
- Get dates and location approved from the local authorities and obtain all permits.
- Map out a race route and get it approved.
- Meet sponsors for the event.
- Create all the promotional material for the walk.
- Create an event on the company’s website with an online registration portal.
- Arrange entertainment activities for kids.
- Arrange for availability of ambulance, fire truck, medical tent and portable washrooms for walk day.
- Arrange for professional therapists and counselors to be present on race day.
- Generate a success report.
2.2.5 Exclusions and Limitations
The scope does not include sale of any kind of merchandise on race day, all food and beverage stalls will be outsourced.
2.2.6 Milestones
Milestones are anchor points of a project like the start and end date of a project; they themselves have no duration. However they are very important for scheduling as they help a project manager determine whether the project is on time during the PERT and CPM analysis. The following figure gives a milestone summary for the project (“Milestone (project management)”, 2016)
2.2.7 WBS
PMBOK defines WBS as the deliverable-oriented grouping of tasks. A Work Break Down structure divides up and organizes the tasks in the scope of the project; anything not included in the WBS is considered to be out of scope. There are different levels in WBS, each is codified using numbers and the lowest level of WBS is known as work package. With the help of a WBS dependencies can be identified through precedents and specific tasks can be assigned to specific individuals, to avoid any confusion (Duncan, n.d.). The figure in Appendix 1.7.1 is the WBS of this project.
2.3 Human Resource Management
Every project needs a skillful and competent human resource team to ensure success of the project. The team has to interact with each other and coordinate its activities; high morale of workers and good communication is necessary to keep the productivity from falling. Hence, resource management is an important area of the project plan. It helps in identifying every person’s place in the project; this not only reduces the chances of rework or work repetition but also helps in improving accountability. Documents like OBS and RACI help in clearing the hierarchical structure and communication channel for the team.
There are three processes involved in resource management. Organizational planning includes the assignment of roles and responsibilities and forming reporting channels. Staff acquisition will identify what human resources will be hired for a specific task and the timings of hiring them. Lastly, the team planning process focuses on developing the skills of the project team through trainings as well as appraising the employees (Duncan, n.d.).
For this project most of the team will be selected from within the organization. However, volunteers will also be recruited to help on the walk day. The volunteers should be hired keeping in mind certain requirements; they should have basic first aid knowledge, they should be good at communicating and crisis management.
2.3.1 Roles & Responsibilities:
| Joan Parker | Project manager |
| James Holt | Project Coordinator |
| Emma Smith | Marketing manager |
| John Ronald | Project account manager |
| Sam Reagan | Web developer |
| Megan Barbers | Course manager |
2.3.1.1 Project manager:
The project manager i.e. Joan Parker is responsible for the overall organizing, execution and monitoring of the project. Some of her responsibilities include approving the schedule of all tasks, approving any change requests, approving budget for the project, approving procurement contracts, keeping in touch with stakeholders, addressing risks, assuring that project is completed on time and within budget and monitoring the project as it progresses.
2.3.1.2 Project Coordinator:
The project manager, who in this case is James Holts, helps the project manager with her tasks. He acts as the intermediary between the project team and the project manager. Moreover his responsibilities include coordination of all the project activities, resolving minor issues that arise, making the initial schedule and budget to be approved by the project manager. He is also responsible for all the documentation required for the project.
2.3.1.3 Project Account Manager:
John Ronald, the account manager is responsible for maintaining all accounts of the project, keeping track of expenses, providing authorization to project accounts, closing all contracts and accounts and creating necessary accounting documents at the end of the project.
2.3.1.4 Marketing manager:
The marketing manager is responsible for supervising the promotional campaign, approving the design and logo for the event, approving marketing proposal for the sponsors and distributing advertising budget between different mediums..
2.3.1.5 Web Developer:
The web developer will be responsible for modifying the facility website to include a separate page about the event and creating an online registration portal.
2.3.1.6 Walk Course manager:
Megan will be responsible for all arrangements relating to the walk which includes, mapping and getting approval for the route, assigning volunteers to different positions on walk day, coordinating with the volunteers, supervising set up of stalls, entertainment booths, portable washrooms and medical tents.
2.3.2 Organizational breakdown structure & RACI:
Organizational breakdown structure is a chart that shows the hierarchical structure and relationship channel for the project team. The chart for this project shows that the project is headed by the project manager; however she is not the contact point. The communication is done through the project coordinator who is the intermediary between the project manager and other team members. In order to make the responsibilities more clear the RACI identifies the signing authority, performer, consultant and anyone who needs to be informed about a specific task. This helps the departments to see what task they will be directly responsible for and whether they need to coordinate with any other department before going through with it. The RACI and OBS for this project are shown in Appendix.
2.3.3 Meetings:
To keep track of project progress, discuss changes and other important matters the project manager will hold weekly meetings with entire project team.
2.3.4 Training:
To ensure safety of participants and to avoid any unpleasant situation, all volunteers will be given training for handling any emergency situation.
2.3.5 Recognition & Rewards:
Volunteers will receive an official letter of appreciation by the facility for participating. Moreover based on performance appraisals the employees who perform well will be given an excellent report and will be recommended for future projects.
2.4 Quality Management
In order to make sure that the project complies with the specifications of the customer quality management is important in project management. During quality management the project manager looks at the company’s quality policy and objectives and implements it during the project. The processes involved in quality management are quality planning, quality assurance and quality control (Duncan, n.d.).
2.4.1 Quality Approach
The mental health clinic has always valued quality as their top priority and focus more on preventive measures, this helps in minimizing any defects in the processes. The facility’s approach for ensuring quality is Total Quality Management. This approach focuses on 8 key areas i.e. ethics, training, integrity, trust, teamwork, leadership, recognition and communication. The same approach will be extended to this project (Padhi, 2016).
2.4.2 Quality Assurance:
For every project it is important that the end product is in compliance with the requirements of the customer, therefore quality assurance is carried out. Moreover this process also looks at whether the required procedures have been followed during the project. Some of quality assurance procedures include (Guevara, Coroneos, Sciberras, & Tuinman, 2009):
- Walkthroughs, whether formal or informal are used to identify errors and correcting them. This is a continuous process of detection and improvement.
- Reviews test the accuracy, reliability, timeliness and productivity of processes through checklists and meetings. This will be used to evaluate all activities independently.
- Evaluations determine whether the deliverable is meeting all the requirements.
- Audits examine whether the procedures have been carried out according to rules and regulations.
- Process Improvement helps in reducing the errors in the entire project.
2.4.3 Quality Control:
Quality Assurance focuses on the preventing errors from occurring in the process whereas the quality control is applied before the project is finally delivered to the customer. Quality control makes sure that the end product has no defects or errors. A quality control checklist for this project is given in the appendix. The following table highlights some tools used for quality control.
| Cause And Effect Diagram | Uses the fishbone diagram to identify and sort errors. |
| Checklist Sheet | Checklist is used to identify whether certain steps have been performed |
| Control Charts | Control charged are used to monitor variances, they also see whether the project is in control. |
| Pareto Chart | It is a histogram, which presents frequency distribution. Using the ranking system pareto diagrams identify the problem causing the greatest number of defects which are then corrected. |
| Statistical Analysis | A sample is chosen from the population for inspection purposes. |
| Trend Analysis | Monitors the technical, cost and schedule performance of a project. |
Source: (Duncan, n.d.)
2.5 Communications management
Throughout the project communication is very important, the communication management plan identifies when communication will be required, the mediums through which it will be carried out and person responsible for it. Having a good communication plan ensures that all the stakeholders have all the information they need in order to carry out their jobs successfully. Following things are addressed in the communication plan:
- Identify all the stakeholders.
- Identify the type of information to be communicated
- Identify the frequency of communicating with each group
- Identify who is responsible for communicating the information
- Identify the medium of communication.
2.5.1 Communication management approach
2.5.2 Communication Standardization
In order to reduce the complexity involved in the communication process we can use standardization. In this method the organization will develop standardized templates for emails and texts, which can then be customized according to the need at hand. Writing new emails or reports will only increase the chances of miscommunication as well as the hassle. Apart from templates other ways of standardization include online message boards, using GoogleDocs to share documents and other information; this will not only speed up the communication process but also make it more effective.
2.6 Procurement Plan
A procurement plan is required so that goods and services for the project can be bought from outside the organization. This includes planning the purchases required to be made and when to be made, then shortlisting the vendors from which they can be purchased, getting bids and offers from those vendors, shortlisting the vendors and creating a contract with a seller. With the help of this plan it can be ensured that the purchases are made according to company policy, the costs are kept at minimum and highest quality of products is received (Duncan, n.d.).
2.6.1 Procurement Policy
All goods will be bought using either one of the following.
2.6.1.1 Direct Purchase:
Direct purchases can be made for goods costing up-to $500, no quotations are needed from vendors, and however the rates should be market competitive and the quality should not be compromised.
The mental health clinic has a list of suitable vendors, with whom thy deal on regular basis. For direct purchases these vendors should be contacted. In case another vendor with a more suitable offer is found, it should be approved by the project manager before engaging with that vendor.
2.6.1.2 Written quotation:
For written quotations there will be two categories:
- Anything costing above $500 will require at least one bid from the potential vendors.
- For goods costing anything above $1500 at least three quotations will be required before making the final decision. If there aren’t three potential vendors for a product then three quotations will not be required.
The quotations filed by the vendors should be in accordance with the specifications and company guidelines provided to them.
2.6.2 Type of contract
A contract is a legal relationship between a buyer and a seller which binds both of them. To honor the contract the seller has to provide the product on time and in accordance to the requirements and the buyer has to pay the seller (Duncan, n.d.). Moreover, there are multiple types of contract, from which the company selects the most suitable one.
The mental health clinic will use two types of contracts for this project; Purchase order will be used to buy small commodity items, mostly direct purchases. These are unilateral contracts and only need signature of the buyer. The second type of contract used is firm fixed price contract, in this case all the risk is on the seller, the buyer can give detailed specifications about the requirement of the product and it also provides the vendor with an incentive to reduce/control the costs (“Procurement management”, 2016).
2.6.3 Contract Closeout
The last part of the procurement plan is closing out the contracts. This is to ensure that the products vendor has delivered are according to the agreed requirements. To complete contract closeout an audit of the procurement plan is carried out, to see if there were any failed contracts in the process. After the audit the contracts with the vendors are officially concluded, payments are released and the related contract file is closed (Duncan, n.d.).
A procurement sourcing document for the project is given in Appendix 1.7.5
Appendices
Appendix 1 WBS
| Outline Number | Task Name |
| 1 | 4 kilometer walk |
| 1.1 | Planning |
| 1.1.1 | Select location |
| 1.1.2 | map race route |
| 1.1.3 | Obtain permits |
| 1.1.4 | Set up volunteer team |
| 1.2 | Marketing |
| 1.2.1 | Decide event name |
| 1.2.2 | Design logo |
| 1.2.3 | create marketing proposal |
| 1.2.4 | Meet sponsors |
| 1.2.5 | Advertise |
| 1.2.5.1 | Social Media |
| 1.2.5.2 | Newspaper |
| 1.2.5.3 | Posters |
| 1.2.6 | Launch online portal |
| 1.3 | Execution |
| 1.3.1 | Prepare Route |
| 1.3.2 | Set up stalls |
| 1.3.3 | Set up registration booth |
| 1.3.4 | Set up portable washrooms |
| 1.3.5 | Set up Medical tent |
| 1.3.6 | Designate volunteers throughout race route |
| 1.3.7 | Monitor race |
| 1.3.8 | Clean up |
| 1.4 | Closure |
| 1.4.1 | Give event report to stakeholders |
| 1.4.2 | Close project successfully |
Appendix 1.1 WBS graphical
Appendix 1.2 Organizational Breakdown Structure
Appendix 2 RACI
| Deliverables | Joan Parkers | James Holt | John Ronald | Emma Smith | Sam Reagan | Megan Barbers |
| Obtaining approval of date and location | A | R | I | |||
| Map and approve walk route | A | R | I | I | R | |
| Event Sponsors | A | I | I | R | ||
| Promotional materials | A | I | I | R | I | |
| Online portal launch | A | I | R | |||
| Portable washroom, Ambulance, Fire truck | A | R | I | R | ||
| Success Report | A | I | R | I |
Key:
R – Responsible for completing the work I – Informed of when an action/decision has been made
A – Accountable for ensuring task completion/sign off C – Consulted before any decisions are made
Appendix 3 Quality Checklist
| Check List Description | Yes | No |
| Have the roles and responsibilities been clearly defined | ||
| Have risks been monitored regularly | ||
| Is there regular communication with all stakeholders? | ||
| The security of entire route is ensured? | ||
| The route is safe for all ages? | ||
| Are all variations within the approved limits? | ||
| Emergency available services are available? | ||
| Enough volunteers are there to appoint throughout the route? | ||
| All participants are given a map of route? | ||
| Portable toilets are properly set up? |
Appendix 4 Communication Plan
| Communication Audience | Medium | Frequency | Updates | Communicator |
| Steering Committee | PowerPoint presentations during scheduled meetings | Monthly | E-mails & Progress reports | Project Manager |
| Project teams | Progress reports, agendas for next week, slideshow and presentations are preferred. | Weekly | SMS, Phone, Emails | Project Coordinator |
| Local Authorities | Proper Documentation. | Before the marketing phase | Printed Report | Project Coordinator |
| Sponsors | Marketing proposal document and presentation slides. End of event report. Phone calls, Emails | As required | Emails, PDF reports | Marketing manager & Project manager |
| Community | Social media, print media,flyers,posters | Continuous | Social media | Marketing Manager |
| Suppliers | Formal documentation, Phone calls | When required | Phone calls, SMS | Project Coordinator |
| Volunteers | Meetings, phone, texts, Emails | after volunteer team is selected | SMS | project coordinator |
Appendix 5 Procurement sourcing
| Item | Requirements/Selection Criteria | Quantity | Budget | Policy/Process |
| Emergency Services | ||||
| Ambulance Service and Medical tent | A highly competent medical staff along with ambulance to be stationed near race route and medical tent to be set up near the main area. | 1ambulance 1 tent 2 paramedics | $2000 | Written Quotation |
| Helium Balloons | Balloons for attracting kids For décor as well as for distributing to children | 1500 | $500 | Direct Purchase Purchase Order |
| Face Painting | As an entertainment activity for participating children. Cartoon characters, animals etc. | 4 individuals | $200 | Firm fixed price |
| PA System for announcements | A high quality system which is weather resistant and covers a long distance. | 8 | $1800 | Written quotation |
| Cooler | 150 liters per cooler, high quality equipment | 8 | $200 | Direct Purchase Firm fixed price |
| Portable Toilets | High quality washroom with portable dumping unit, installed light. Facility of emptying portable dumping unit is provided with it. | 4 | $650 | Written Quotation |
| Marquee | 8×8 meters | 1 | $1000 | Written Quotation |
| Tables | Good quality, plastic. | 25 | $300 | Direct Purchase Purchase order |
| Chairs | Good quality, plastic | 30 | $200 | Direct Purchase Purchase Order |
| Drinks | Water bottles to be provided at water booths. | 1000 | $1000 | Written Quotation |
| Ice | To fill 8 coolers. | 18 | $80 | Direct Purchase Purchase order |
| Photocopying/Printing | For brochures, posters and pamphlets. | $1600 | Written Quotation | |
| Newspaper | Half page of advertisement | 2 | $1600 | Written quotation |
Bibliography
Burley, K. (2016). What is a deliverable in project management? Small Business Chron. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/deliverable-project-management-31615.html
Duncan, W. R. A GUIDE TO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE PMI standards committee. Retrieved from http://www2.fiit.stuba.sk/~bielik/courses/msi-slov/reporty/pmbok.pdf
Guevara, D., Coroneos, R., Sciberras, J., & Tuinman, K. (2009, February). Community walk for a cure project
Hales, L. (2003). Project integration management: Definition, processes & example. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/project-integration-management-definition-processes-example.html
Heldman, K. The importance of the project scope statement. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://pm.97things.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/The_Importance_of_the_Project_Scope_Statement
Milestone (project management) (2016). . In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_(project_management)
Padhi, N. (2016, October 29). The Eight elements of TQM. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from https://www.isixsigma.com/methodology/total-quality-management-tqm/eight-elements-tqm/
Procurement management. (2016). Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://www.pmpnotes.com/pmp-notes/procurement-management/
Project. (2012). . Retrieved from https://www.wou.edu/tri/site/pdf/SITE_Goals-Objectives.pdf
Rouse, M. (2015a, March ). What is project scope? Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/project-scope
The importance of the project scope statement. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://pm.97things.oreilly.com/wiki/index.php/The_Importance_of_the_Project_Scope_Statement.
