Introduction
The primary purpose of this project audit method is to carry out a systematic inspection of a point-of-sale at a hotel to assist in automating services. The hotel has for a long time been using an over-the-counter register in its interactions and a manual inventory for its suppliers. The new technology offers a new way by which to increase the speeds of transactions and accuracy of the orders. Installation of the new electronic point-of-sale is done in a bid to maximize customer experience and take control of the inventory, and secure the systems at all points of entry. The electronic point-of-sale would enable the management of check out, operations and coordination of activities.
Activity Summary
The first activity carried out was projects initiation. This was done after carrying out a SWOT analysis of the hotel. The analysis concluded that the POS project was the most valuable and most favorable given the resources in its possession. This was followed by project scope documentation, approval of the project and signing off. These activities involved definition of goals and assigning of tasks. It also involved the breaking down the project into technical, functional and management and financial baselines. Execution of the project plan involved the following activities: getting bids from suppliers, auction, procurement closure, enterprise information infrastructure design, training of implementers, point-of-sale system implementation, carrying out test-runs, going live and training of the users. The last activity was the formal closure of the project.
Project Outcome
The installation of the electronic point-of-sale (POS) in the hotel has led to the increase in the speed of operations and the accuracy of orders. This has been done due to the instant flow of information from where a customer is stationed to the requisite service provider. As a result the customer experience has been maximized and the hotel has been able to take control of inventory and secure the systems at every level. Previously, the system was vulnerable to fraud from the loss of vital information, dishonest employees and organized crimes. The new POS has solved the fraud problem and has increased the speed and accuracy of operations in the hotel.
Analysis of Specific Techniques and Strategies Employed
The project was broken down into technical baseline, functional and management baseline and the financial baseline so as to ensure that the project does not go beyond its scope, time and cost. The technical baseline included the statement of work, specifications, breakdown of the work structure, timing and the spending curve. The functional and management baseline indicated on how the technical baseline would be managed. It included the project policies and the general organization of the project among others. Lastly, the financial baseline identified how the costs were collected, analyzed and how the reports were to be prepared.
Critical Path Method
The Critical Path Method (CPM) was the technique used to manage the project schedules and baselines. The CPM involved the listing of all activities that were required to complete the project, the time durations of the activity and the dependency between the activities and the end points. The method identified the task durations and the sequences involved within the tasks. It was used to identify the critical activities that would require the longest path and time for the project, if that path was taken (Kerzner, 2004). The technique enabled the determination of relationships between the project activities and identifying the ones that could be carried out simultaneously.
Time Management
The schedule baseline developed was instrumental in time management. The baseline was concerned with the amount of time the project was to take and which activities would be taking place at which time (Kerzner, 2001). The baseline was also responsible for the allocation of extra time to activities after approval by the project manager and funders. The schedule baseline was utilized to track and assess the performance of the project by indicating when it commenced, when particular activities took place, the closure of the project and the milestone achievement dates. The MS Project was used as a tool for time management as it enabled the formulation and creation of a master schedule that would be utilized by the project. The schedule baseline allows the sticking to the deadlines and also ensures that the human resources do not delay in any activity. This enables the timely delivery of the project activities. A delay in any given project activity would cause a delay in other activities hence dragging the entire project. In case of any changes, such as lateness in delivery of resources, the schedule baselines would be adjusted to incorporate the changes (Kerzner, 2004). The schedule baselines allow the completion of the project within the set milestone date.
Cost Management
Management of the cost of the project was done using the cost baseline. The cost baseline ensured the monitoring of the project cost and determined the amount of money that was needed to successfully complete the project. A budget was developed to determine the total project cost. The budget ensured that the activities of the project were carried out within the estimated costs of the total project. The budget ensured that there were no missing heads and overruns later on in the project. The budget allowed the incorporation of all costs, financial in nature, related to the project activities. Any adjustments on the costs of certain products or services would reflect on the project’s budget (Kerzner, 2001).
Project Communication Plan
The project also employed status reports as a way of monitoring and control. Status reports were used primarily for the communication between the project stakeholders on the progress of project and about the various baselines including schedule, technical and financial. They allowed the making of adjustments to the project baselines to allow the incorporation of the changes that were encountered in terms of the resources being used, amount of time and the cost of carrying out of an activity. With these status reports, the project funders, project manager and the personnel involved with the project were able to know of the progress of the project, the challenges encountered and the specific measures that could be taken to tackle them. This way, the status reports were able to provide reasons for adjustments to the project baselines to avoid the failure of the project. Without status reports, the project stakeholders could not know progress of the project and hence could not allow adjustments in terms of resources, time and money (Harrison, 1981). This would have led to the failure of the entire project.
Advanced Project Management Methodologies
Corrective Action
Any given project is bound to be faced with challenges that demand corrective action (Harrison, 1981). Challenges occurred as a result of scope creep, budget overruns and delays in time. Scope creeps can be corrected by limiting the amount of time. This can be done through changing resource allocation, project activities and assignment of tasks to the human resources (Kloppenborg, 2001). Budget overruns can be corrected through asking for more funds from the project sponsors. More funds would ensure the successful completion of the project through the factoring in of the additional costs. Time delays, on the other hand, can be corrected through the restraining of certain activities while carrying other project activities concurrently. A risk analysis offers an excellent way of carrying out corrective action. A risk analysis ensures that alternatives are in place to prevent the project from stalling in the cases of a risk. A risk analysis can be used as a precautionary measure to the entire project (Kerzner, 2004).
Strategies Employed
The carrying out of a cause and effect analysis was able to identify the various causal factors of time delays and budget overruns. This was done in consultation with the various project stakeholders. The schedule baseline for the project was not strictly as other activities took longer than the allocated time. The procured goods did not arrive on time and hence there was a time delay. The corrective action employed was the adjustment of the schedule baseline to factor in the lateness in the delivery of the goods. Due to the inflationary adjustments, the prices of the products were slightly higher than what was allocated in the budget. As a result, there was a budget overrun. Standby funds set aside by the project sponsors helped cushion this challenge.
Project Management Techniques and Methodologies
- Project quality management.
- Regular project and product quality audits.
- Project timeline and schedule development through MS Project or other software.
- Gantt chart development and PERT analysis.
- Project scope document development.
- Requirements gathering and analysis.
- Using the PMBOK (PMI, 2013)
- Cost management and resource management.
- Project schedule management.
- Change management.
- Project scope creep management.
- Developing the milestones.
Recommendations
Scope management is an important aspect in project management (PMI, 2013). It is advisable that the scope be defined correctly to avoid the occurrence of scope creeps. Occasionally, a project may demand more resources than the ones allocated to it. As a result, the project scope would expand. With a properly defined scope, the event of a scope creep would adequately be factored in and the necessary adjustments made. The various baselines (schedule, time and technical) play an important role in the monitoring and controlling of the project. The offer control in terms of the amount of time the project takes and the amount of money that would be utilized by the entire project. An instance of budget overrun can easily be mitigated by a financial baseline. Standby funds, for example, can offer mitigation to budget overruns. Having in place a schedule baseline can enable the avoidance of time delays. A schedule baseline would monitor the amount of time a project activity takes and would also offer adjustments related to the changes experienced (Kerzner, 2004).
References
Kerzner, H. (2004). Advanced project management: Best practices on implementation, (2nd ed.) Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9780471472841.
Kerzner, H. (2001). Project management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. New York: John Wiley.
Harrison, F. L. (1981). Advanced project management. Aldershot, England: Gower.
Kloppenborg, T. J. (2001). Contemporary project management (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.
PMI. (2013). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Project Management Institute.
