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ATTN: Director, Project Support Office
I have reviewed the project summary and the following are my findings and recommendations in moving forward.
We are already at the midpoint and we have already accumulated a cost overrun of $59,750. Assuming that we will maintain the same performance, we will incur a total overrun of $119,500 by the end of the project. With a planned budget of $471,000 and projected actual cost of 530,750, that would be 12.7% over the budget which is too large a variance to allow.
For the work done so far, we have been progressing at a rate of 8 man-months a month compared to 9 in the budget plan which resulted in a current work accomplished of 88.9% or the equivalent to a delay of a third of a month or 7.33 work days. This would project to a total delay of 2/3 months or 14.67 work days at the end of the planned project period of 6 months.
Overall, I consider the project already at a medium risk and with all due respect, may I request that you reconsider your instruction that I will be on-site for only 2 days a month at the most. I believe that I should be on-site once a week so I can apply close supervision to all tasks and track all costs until we are able to recover for cost and work progress. When I am not around, I will be in constant communication with the project staff on a daily basis.
We have saved 20% on salaries and benefits but had resulted in an 11% slower work rate. This cost saving is not justifiable if it jeopardizes timely project completion. We recommend a review of the quality of the current members and use the cost savings to make manpower adjustments if necessary. We can replace, add or train whichever would be most expedient.
We have already used up the total budget for hardware and software purchases with an overrun of $15,000. This is already in place and cannot be changed anymore. The purchases met all the technical requirements and should serve the project well.
We had been spending $2,000 more per month for hardware lease maintenance. With the help of purchasing and the technical staff, we will look for a lower cost alternative. We have overspent on contract services by $20,000 each for the second and third month. We were able to stay within budget in the first month and we will look closer on what changes had occurred for us have spent more.
Against the budget plan, we also have started paying for data center services 3 months ahead of the original plan and we have incurred an additional $15,000 so far. We will look into the possibility that we no longer have to pay for the next three months. There were also other services which had an overrun of $5,250.
We plan to meet Mark to ask him about the services we purchased from his new company. Whatever advice he can provide us would be most welcome. The project can still recover from its current state but the key would be the people that I will be working with. They should be well qualified and be able to work with me to bring back the project to stop overspending.
The second general concern is the procurement practices of the procurement department. We hope to see that all of our suppliers have a good relationship with our company so that we can have favorable terms and prices.
Rest assured, we will do our utmost best and we will keep the management closely informed of our needs to be successful.
ATTN: Upper-level Managers
We have learned that you are considering terminating the project because it will likely not be completed on time and within budget. There is also concern that quality will be compromised because of the increasingly stressful pace of the work. I have just assumed the role of project manager at the midpoint of the project and had just completed an initial assessment. I do confirm that the project is not in good shape so far with a current cost overrun of 22% and a progress shortfall of 11% which translates to a delay of 14.7 work-days for the planned 6 months duration. Both the cost and time issues are serious enough but not beyond recovery to not be able to complete within time and budget. We still have half of the project to go and we are confident that we can get support from management.
One important aspect going for us is that we did not discover any major technical issue which would qualify as critical risk. Looking only at the technical features of all the purchased hardware and software, they are all compliant to the required specifications. The chosen brands are highly reputable and popular enough for the required skills to be abundant in the marketplace. All the problems are either project management or financial issues which we believe are resolvable.
The change of leadership in midcourse was disadvantageous but was offset when we engaged the consulting services of the company where the original project manager moved to. He will be made available to advice on our project.
Regarding the work delay, one glaring point is that we are one man short out of the nine required. The immediate addition of a high-quality staff should immediately relieve the situation. With the help of our HR and a reputable IT staffing agency, we are confident of filling the gaps in qualifications if there are any. Our HR also has extended a hand by offering IT job internees to join our project. The cost is free and they would take on the lowest level tasks. The other costs are licenses and outside services and we will seek the assistance of our purchasing department to renegotiate more favorable terms.
We will increase the probability of success by involving our users as often as possible. This will shorten the user testing phase and most of all, catch potential points of dissatisfaction from the users. In the same light, any issue which would need that assistance of management will be brought up immediately for resolution. This is a project which is in critical mode and we hope that management would understand our sense of urgency when we escalate problems beyond our capabilities or authority.
Rest assured, we already have a recovery strategy and plan in place and we know that all the resources are available. It is just now a matter of diligence and hard work for the project team of which I will devote myself intensely. We request that you give the team a chance to make this project a success.
Agenda
I am the new project manager replacing Ms. Joyce Cutler who was acting PM. I shall be with you at least one day each week but will be in constant communication with each member of the team. I will collect all contact numbers within this day so please email to . My phone number is (818) 218-6995.
Our weekly meeting is set at 9:00AM, Monday at Room 101. As much as possible, we will limit our time to within two hours and the taking of minutes will be rotated among all members alphabetically. Any material that you plan to distribute in the meeting should be emailed to all members not later than the noon of the preceding Friday.
A team building exercise is scheduled on a Saturday within this month. The team will vote to agree on what date it will be.
The project is currently running over the cost budget and there is a delay in work. We should all brace ourselves to be better focused and available for guidance and instructions at all times.
Within 30 days, we will implement changes in the processes and organization of the team so we can reverse the unsatisfactory trend. Especially during this time, I will be open via email to all comments and suggestions that will improve our situation.
I will expect an email from each one at the end of each day and it will contain the following:
Planned work for the day
Accomplished work for the day (description and %)
Explanation of variance (issues, unexpected events, etc)
We will strictly follow the rule that there should be no idle or waiting time for anybody. If you are caught in this situation and a remedy is beyond your means, please send me an SMS so I can call you as soon as possible.
For any planned or unplanned absence or time-off from work, please inform me by SMS as soon as possible so I can make arrangements to cover for the work.
We will avoid overtime work to save on costs but if you feel that it is necessary to prevent work delay, then please email to me your justification and SMS me as soon as possible so I can assess and approve it.
Any urgent need for expense must get my approval via SMS. Our petty cash is available for dispensing at the finance office.
I will set-up a shared folder where I will maintain a copy of all our project documents. I want everybody to be familiar with all of them, especially the project plan.
We cannot afford any loss of data that will cause us any delay in work. Everyone will strictly backup all their files in our data server at the end of each day. Folders will be set-up for everyone for this purpose.
Training within the project will take the form of ‘brown bag sessions’ where we will conduct training over lunch. Free meals will be provided. Ideas for training that will facilitate project work will be most welcome. I have scheduled the first one for next Friday and the topic is about our project methodology and how we will apply it.
Meet with the project team.
Make formal introduction as project manager.
Provide general guidelines on house rules and working relationships.
Solicit questions and comments from the project members.
Review all project assets.
Apply configuration management.
Compile an inventory and create a version control system
Assign to the project librarian.
Physically inspect all purchased hardware and software.
Set-up the folders for data back-up in the data server.
Review the human resources
Create a skills and experience matrix for all the members.
We can have an idea on how they can cover for each other’s unavailability.
Management can see gaps and weaknesses that can be a target for training.
Members can know who they can consult on specific matters.
Decide whether money will be spent on a new member or on upgrading skills. The result should be a higher capacity for work equivalent to 9 people.
Arrange with the HR department on the introduction of university internees. Determine the low-level tasks that will be assigned.
With the assistance of the purchasing department, identify potential IT staffing agencies that can provide manpower in case of need.
Set-up a back-up skills partner system where for every skill, there are at least two persons who are knowledgeable.
Review the knowledge system.
Conduct first ‘brown bag’ session to introduce the training practice.
Set up a simple knowledge management system (KMS) to capture project information and knowledge.
Conduct a knowledge audit that will capture information on lessons learned and knowledge gained so far in the project. These will be entered into the KMS.
Teach all members how to use the KMS.
Review the project management processes and documents.
Meet with the project consultants and map out strategies on how the project can recover. Ensure that Mark Wimmer, the ex-project manager is involved.
Establish an efficient reporting system.
Implement daily and urgent reporting within the team.
Set-up a weekly user report for the users
Set-up a monthly executive report for the Director and senior management
Create a coordination map for user involvement. In collaboration with user managers, users will be assigned to project members based on responsibilities. They will be closely involved with the project’s activities through the assigned project members.
Set-up the folder for project documents for everybody’s purview.
Set-up a documents version control system.
Review the task and responsibilities of each member and fine –tune based on competencies and project goals.
Conduct the team building exercise to enhance teamwork and harmony within the team
Review the suppliers and contracts.
Review the supplier contracts and identify unfavorable terms.
With assistance of purchasing, attempt to renegotiate for better terms.
Meet each of the suppliers; discuss the purchase and the project.
Identify what customer training can be provided.
Identify what services can be learned in-house, data center services in particular.
ATTN: File
I met Mark Wimmer (original PM, now with the consulting company) and Joyce Cutler (interim PM) to exchange notes on the current situation of the project. We covered all the problems already and were able to bring out more insights and new ideas. One unexpected problem though came out and that was the common perception of Mark and Joyce that there existed a communications problem between the project team’ technical personnel and the company’s involved business personnel, which are mostly the users. The problem started to surface when the technical staff was trying to define the upgrade needs for the servers and the database. They were briefed to avoid using technical jargon and be ready to explain when asked. They were disappointed to find out that their technical grasp of IT was even lower than expected. I was glad I learned this today as this gap would surely slow down the coming work which included user testing.
Before I raise this to the director and to may staff, I need to have a clearer idea of how wide the gap is. The purpose of this assessment is for the benefit of the project and is not an enterprise-wide initiative. I plan only to call on those business groups who will be users of the databases and servers and the purpose is to start a conversation about their business needs and information systems. The topics I will touch on are:
How are they using the databases and servers in their work
Their difficulties in using IT
Their difficulties with working with IT staff
Another primary source that I will examine is the emails exchanged between the project members and users. Some business users would not ask questions even if they can’t keep up with the conversation. I will look for instances where these are evident. Lastly, I would talk to some of the technical staff to verify the accounts of Mark and Joyce.
My assessment should provide me an idea of the IT literacy of the business personnel. The root cause of the communication problems is lack of IT knowledge and the remedy for that is focused training that will fill in the gaps within the context of the project. I would seek the assistance of the HR department to package an IT orientation course; the content would come from the project team while the training methodology would come from HR. The learning outcome would be the understanding of the basics of all the IT assets that the business personnel are using. They should become more conversant with IT with an increase in jargon.
This is a high-impact initiative as it will expedite the communications within the project. To complete this undertaking in the soonest time possible, it should be in the form of a one-day training event to be conducted on a Saturday. We will seek the support of the business managers involved to make attendance mandatory for all their personnel who are involved in the project.
Another measure which can already be implemented is a change in attitude in both technical and business personnel. The latter should be directed to be more upfront and direct in asking for clarifications or explanations when they are interacting with IT personnel. On the other hand, IT staff should be sensitive if business personnel are struggling during discussions. They should appear supportive and patient so an informative exchange can transpire.
