Managing a project is in itself a great challenge for the project manager. There are different plans that are needed to be formulated prior to starting the project. The first and foremost is to develop and understand the project goals. In addition to this, there are many constraints, such as budget, time, scope, and quality (McChrystal, et.al, 2015). This report provides a piece of complete information about different aspects of a project. Various plans, such as HR Management Plan, Communication Plan, Stakeholder Management Plan, and Pertinent Subsidiary Plans. All these are formulated in the context of a project "Building Victorian Public Schools” undertaken by ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd. All these plans contain various subparts that are to be covered in this report.
ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd is one of the leading construction organisations that deal in building and construction services within Australia. It was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in NSW. Its services are design and construction, contractor management, cost planning services, contractor involvement, etc. The company provides its services in different sectors, such as aviation, aged care, education, health, retail, and much more. Its 2018 revenue was nearly $1 billion. At present, it is one of the top 100 private companies in Australia.
The project of building Victoria Public School is a government undertaking. The aim of this project is to build public schools, thereby providing education to each and every child in every area and every community. ADCO has won the tender for building Victorian Public School that has a value of $150 million. Eight new primary schools will be built by 2020. Upon timely completion of Richmond High School, Victorian School Building Authority (VSBA) gain confidence in the company. At present, ADCO has demonstrated key challenges and prepared the plans to manage this government school building project.
1. General Project Information
Project Name:
Victorian Public School Construction
Executive Sponsors:
Victorian Government
2. Project Team
Name
Department
Telephone
E-mail
Project Manager:
Rox Antony
Civil Engineering
Team Members:
Jack Bill
Rockinson Parker
Jon Stanley
Harry K. Kennedy
Finance
Aishna Paul
Human Resource
Prince John
Designing
3. Project Scope Statement
Project Purpose
The primary aim of this project is to build the world-class schools for Victorian Public School Association.
Objectives
To form teams to carry out different operations associated with the project.
To arrange funds from different sources to keep the operations going.
To hire contractors for providing different services.
To check the progress of the project.
To deliver the expected outcomes of the project.
Deliverables
Highly stable, durable, and aesthetically good Victorian Public schools for every child in the community
Scope
This project is only limited to providing a completed, semi-furnished, schools to the government. The company is liable to build the structure for 8 schools only. The interior is designed by another party.
Project Milestones
Activities
Jan 19
Feb 19
Mar 19
Apr 19
May 19
Jun 19
Jul 19
Aug 19
Sep 19
Oct 19
Nov 19
Dec 19
Project Designing and Planning
Resource Arrangement
Resource Allocation
Project development
Quality Testing
Monitoring
Reviewing
Project Closure
Major Known Risks
Risk
Risk Rating (Hi, Med, Lo)
Human Resource Shortage
High
Time delay due to uncontrolled factors
Medium
Exceeding Budget
Constraints
The shortage of skilled labour and poor retention of the employees are the issues constraining the project. In addition to this, budget is another constraint for the project along with the time span of 1 year for building 8 schools.
External Dependencies
The external dependencies for this construction project comprise
6. Sign-off
Signature
Date (MM/DD/YYYY)
Project Manager
Name of Stakeholder
Role in Project
Designation
The degree to which Stakeholder is Impacted by Project
Level of Stakeholder's Influence/Impact on Project Outcomes
Level of Involvement in the Project
Preferred Method of Communication
Managing every aspect of the project
Management
Face to Face or Emails
Monica Lucan
Providing requirements and funds for the project
Government Agent
Education
medium
low
Peter Jane
Carry out construction work as per the design specifications
Employees
Civil
Garry Snow
Providing construction materials and other resources
Contractors
-
Tom Lincoln
Providing regular funds for carrying out daily operations of the project
Sponsors
high
Low
Arranging resources, preparing training plans, making a salary, and managing employees' morale.
HR Manager
Managing the cash flow in the project
Finance Manager
Preparing site plans and designs for schools.
Designing Head
Architecture
In this part, the importance and purpose of the human resource management plan. It provides a general description of how different operations can be carried out on a project and how resources can be arranged and managed. The ultimate goal of HR Management plan is to smoothen the workflow and provide and manage resources to complete the project well on time and within the stipulated budget (McChrystal, et.al, 2015).
It is important for a successful project that each and every member associated with the project should be cleared about their roles and responsibilities. It also depends on the organisational structure that one member can have multiple roles and responsibilities. The team members working on this project has varying authority and different degree of responsibility (Mitchell, & Golden, 2012). In roles, the major focus is on the portion of a project for which a member of the team is answerable and accountable. In addition to this, responsibilities are emphasising on the work a team member performs to complete the work. For this construction of Victorian Public School project, the roles and responsibilities have been defined below:-
This section gives a tabular display of the complete project operations and team members. The purpose of providing this organisation charts is to illustrate the roles and responsibilities of the team members so that they could relate to the project process. In this project, Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform (RACI) has been used to assist in communicating responsibilities and roles for the team working on the project. In addition to this, the organisational structure may be used to assign the responsibilities by the department.
Training Leads
A
R
C
Network Preparation
I
Implementation
Conduct Training
This part is interesting as it consists of information on different areas including staff acquisition, the time at which the resources are required or may be released, training needs of the employees, methods for reviewing performances, and rewarding and recognition system to be used. The staffing management plan is a part of the project scope.
For the construction of the eight Victorian Public School within 12 months of time, ADCO would be needing a large workforce and staff. The first thing ADCO is sure about is that it won't be outsourcing any operation in the project in order to have a maximum amount of profit. The PM is required to work with the HR manager and finance manager to arrange the workforce and other resources well on time (Qarase, 2012). All the teams working on the project are required to send the requirement for their requirement for the workforce. All resources would be required to be approved by the project manager and the HR manager. The project team will be relocated to the site in order to fulfil the workforce requirement. The rest need would be fulfilled by hiring experienced employees.
The construction project will last in 12 months. All resources, such as pieces of machinery, workforce, and other resources are required to be arranged and hired for at least 12 months. The designing head is required to work 40 hours a week for the first three months of the project. The PM is also required to work the same amount of hours per week as during the first three months, the work is crucial and needs regular guidance (McChrystal, et.al, 2015). The employees have to give at least 8 hours daily for 6 days a week. In addition to this, the company is also providing overtime option.
Until the project manager does not hire new employees, there is no need for providing training. However, in this project, the PM would be hiring new employees and hence, they need basic training of the construction project.The PM is required to identify the training needs and sanction funds for the same (Leach, 2014).
The project manager will be reviewing the performance of the team members along with the other team heads and communicate all the criteria based on which their performance will be judged. The evaluation will be done throughout the whole project and every team member is aware of it (Qarase, 2012). The PM will meet the team leaders to get the information of their team member's performance and their weaknesses to provide the right training to them. After thesuccessful completion of the project, all the team members will be rewarded as per their performance (Akkerman, et.al, 2015).
For the project manager, there are hundreds of responsibilities to handle at the same time and that comprise delegating tasks, evaluating the project tasks regularly to remove any bottlenecks and making sure that whatever an employee does, it should contribute somewhere to the accomplishment of the goals of the project. In other words, they should have the same goals as that of the company's goals (Rue, et.al, 2014). It is a fact that no project can be successful without a project management plan and a communication plan.
A communication plan is a part of a project management plan that determines how significant data and information will be conveyed to all the stakeholders of a project in the due course of the project. In addition to this, it also determines who will be getting what information and through what channels and in what form. In this project, a communication plan is provided below that comprises communication matrix, key messages, type of information that has to be communicated, and much more.
Challenges
Communications response(s)
The time shortage and limited resources might have a drastic impact on the project consultation and quality of outcomes from it.
Sharing each and every prospect of this project with stakeholders directly and explaining them all the constraints that are associated with the project and teams working on it. In addition to this, all the deadlines must also be conveyed on the project newsletter and project report.
· Determining and promoting opportunities for different stakeholders that are directly or indirectly involved in the project.
· Tailoring all the consultation processes in which it is possible to ensure that stakeholdershaveany kind of opportunities to get engaged. For instance, if there is only a less amount of time for providingfeedback, then one should proactivelyengage withother stakeholders instead of waiting for any response from them
There is a huge confusion among the potential stakeholders of the project about project scope, goals and objectives, and the project's final outcomes.
· It is important to provide clear and understandable messages about the project scope and key decisions communicated via both informal and formal channel.
· The PM is required to create a simple fact chart that elaborates various project approach, its scope, and significant solutions and opportunities for providing input.
· Simulating all the project approach at any consultancy.
· Making use of communication forms for conveying key messages (e.g., Current regulators Workshops, Project Team Website, Newsletter)
· Key opportunities for project decisions and input advised through project team meeting and monthly newsletter.
Dissatisfaction among the potential stakeholder about the benefits and opportunities that are required to be communicated
· The PM is required to create a simple fact chart that elaborates various project approach, its scope, and significant solutions and opportunities for providing input
· Ensuring that all inputs from stakeholders are addressed and managed well on time.
The potential anxiety among the members working on the project caused by scope change.
· regular and Consistent message toall project members
· , Forming a ChangeManagement Plan while working with current Division Heads
Handling the expectations of the project staff about the capability of the project techniques.
· Clear messages from senior management about the functionality of design and its different element and these should be formally or informally communicated.
· The project executives need to show strong leadership and the project members need to trust them.
Not every stakeholder is able to understand the proposed solutions and project outcomes.
· Having a strong engagement of stakeholders and ensuring timely meetings take place while the project is in progress.
· Demonstrating the pros and benefits along with efficiencies the project will provide in the future.
· Articulating the clear and big picture goals and illustrating the benefits of most efficient practices to be followed in the project.
Key Stakeholder
Communication Purpose
Communication Medium
Frequency
Responsible Person
Clients, Departmental Heads, Directors, General Managers, Project Manager, HR manager
- Understanding the project progress and status
- Understanding the effect of their portfolio/area
- Understanding the needs of clients and set directions to assist the project
- Communicating the shared information with the Directors, client, General Manager, and other stakeholders
- Face to Face Meetings
- Workshops
- Emails
- Status Update Reports
- PMIS
Monthly
Support Personnel, Finance Manager, Training Head, Designing Head
- Consistently understanding what is required to be done and when so that the message remains the same irrespective of communication point used
- Understanding where to go for arranging funds and resources
- Understanding the skill gap and providing training needs
- Controlled release ofthe memo
Weekly or 15 Days
Professional Staff
- Know what will happen and when it will take place
- Know the steps that they need to complete for a successful transition
- Are educated about the change and understand how to get training and support
- Are excited about the change and see it in a positive light.
Weekly
- Project Manager
The project management system is the tool that is used in managing the project to deliver and store information regarding different aspects of a project. Majority of the project managers use this tool to collect, store, and distribute data and information manually or via some electronic means. The best part of such tools is that it can be used by both senior as well as lower level management (Murphy and Simon, 2012). There are various types of PMIS that are being used in a different project. For example Oracle, ERP, SAP, OLS, IBM, etc. In this project, it is proposed that ADCO should make use ERP as its project management information system (PMIS). This would help in planning, executing, and closing project management goals. The project manager can employ ERP for a budget framework like preparing project budget and managing daily expenses. In addition to this, the information of each and every employee working on the project and what tasks have been given to them on a daily or weekly basis can be stored and referred. In addition to this, he can also store the performance data of each employee while working on the project. This would help in rewarding and providing bonuses to the employees (Murphy and Simon, 2012).
Apart from this, there are other benefits of these systems that can be reaped out by ADCO. The first and foremost is that the project manager can make use of ERP for resource scheduling and preparing timelines. In addition to this, any important or crucial information for the project can also be conveyed to all the stakeholders in a very convenient and hassle-free way.The PMIS can also be used to define the scope baseline for this construction project (Badewiand Shehab, 2016). In addition to this, the project manager can be able to manage materials, keep a record of them, and collect financial data. Furthermore, during the closure phase, the PMIS can be used to review the goals to check whether or not the tasks are accomplished. As the project is required to be completed within 12 months of time, ERP can be the right tool as it improves the efficiency of the teamand team members (Rue, et.al, 2014). The communication process is improved by making use of ERP as it improves reporting and planning.
Stakeholders Management comprises processes that are significant for identifying people, groups, and firms that might get affected by the project or vice versa. In addition to this, it is about analysing stakeholders’ expectations and their likely effect on the project (Crawford, 2014). Furthermore, it also consists of formulating strategies and tactics for engaging stakeholders in a way that is appropriate to the interest of stakeholders’ interest and involvement in the project. The overall aim of formulating stakeholder analysis plan is to gain support for the project and determine the likely resistance, source of conflict, or objectives of the project's stakeholders. There are many sections of the stakeholder management plan that has been discussed here.
In order to prepare an effective stakeholder management plan, it is important to first identify and assess the stakeholders. This can be done by performing stakeholder analysis, wherein potential stakeholders and their information, such as involvement, interest, interdependencies, and potential impact on project are collected and analysed. It is important to note here that the impact is measured by stating High, Medium, and Low as per their respective impact or involvement in the project. To confirm the identification of stakeholder and analysis process, it has to be accurate (Crawford, 2014). The Project manager will assist in facilitating a series of interviews. In addition to this, optional qualitative interviews might be performed for collecting data of stakeholders. The key benefits of this process are that it facilitates a clear, actionable plan to interact with different stakeholders associated with the project. This would need the support and cooperation of stakeholders.
Based on the information gathered in the aforementioned stakeholder analysis and communication plan, it is the responsibility of the project manager to keep the stakeholder engaged throughout the life of the project. However, it has been seen that the level of engagement varies with the course of the project. For instance, during the initial stage of a project, it is significant for the project manager to engage each and every stakeholder and that too with a high level of engagement (Rue, et.al, 2014). The reason for which is that a highly engaged stakeholder in the initial stage of a project is pivotal for the head start of the project and achieving employees buying and discarding challenges that might have a negative impact on the pace of the project. As the project proceeds, the engagement level of stakeholders of the project will get shifted to the end users and the wider project team (Grahamand Harvey, 2012).
To make sure that the right level of engagement is achieved by every stakeholder, the Project Manager will require to evaluate the current level of engagement by making use of PMBOK Stakeholders Engagement Assessment Matrix (Ajodhia, 2012). The major point to note here is that each and every aforementioned stakeholder will be analysed in terms of their existing and desired level of engagement in the project (Crawford, 2014).
Stakeholder
Unaware
Resistant
Neutral
Supportive
Leading
L
Sponsor
S
Client
U
R (partially)
From the above matrix, it is cleared that the majority of the stakeholders that are directly associated with the project and ADCO are supportive and are actively contributing to the project. However, it is also cleared that the client which is Victorian Government is resistant. The clients might want changes in the drawings or in the structure which might be increasing the project scope and affecting the project progress.
To effectively control the stakeholders and their engagement, the project manager of ADCO will utilise the stakeholder management plan and communication plan and various strategies. These would help in communicating project related information to the key stakeholders mentioned above proactively and timely. The project manager can leverage the information provided in the communication plan (Qarase, 2012). This would be a great help for reducing the resistance from stakeholders and increase their support. Managing the engagement of the stakeholders can be helpful in increasing the probability of success of the project as the stakeholders will help in understanding project goals and objectives.
Another aspect that is discussed here is monitoring the stakeholders’ engagement that aims at monitoring the relationships of stakeholders with the project and adjusting plans and strategies for engaging stakeholders. This requires a deep information analysis and assessing the level of engagement of stakeholders.
A successful project is based on how well its HR strategy gels with its stakeholder management plan and communication plan in achieving business goals. This depends on managing communication and relations. This can be done by making use of the right HR technology. Everyone in the industry is impacted by different approaches taken up by HR. It is required from the HR manager to engage with each and every stakeholder that might have a significant effect on the project outcome. Only then, one can integrate the HR strategy, stakeholders, and communication plan.
The first and foremost is to understand the local interest of stakeholders. All the stakeholders in the organisation are required to align with the local interest of the company. HR should formulate a model that is centralised and based on policies to make sure that business interests are accomplished during the project. In addition to this, HR is required to develop a proactive, collaborative, and visible experience. She is required to take a collaborative approach that is proactive also. This would help in creating a positive and inclusive environment for work. This would help in creating an engaging environment for people.
The project manager can secure backing and pitch benefits. The PM should make some initiatives to go ahead and search for talent from all across the world. This would help the employees to learn diverse skills and tactics. This would instigate a feeling of engagement in them. To conclude this, it is important for HR to promote sharing responsibilities with employees in order to make them feel valued and ask feedbacks to form them. this would make them engaging in the project.
In this project report, the project management, Stakeholder management, and communication plan in the context of a school construction project undertaking of Victorian Public School Association had been discussed. The project has a market value of $150 Million and the construction work is carried out by ADCO Construction Pvt. Ltd. In the project, different aspects of the aforementioned plan had been elaborated. For instance, in stakeholder analysis, the importance of stakeholder analysis, the significance of identifying stakeholder, and strategies to engage and their analysis as per the guidelines are given by PMBOK had been done. It was identified that the client and employees usually cause resistance in the projected growth. Furthermore, in the communication management plan, key challenges in the communication and strategies to resolve them have been highlighted. Apart from this,key messages for stakeholders to get the idea of the project and its aim and objectives has been provided. This report provided complete information about different aspects of a project. Various plans, such as HR Management Plan, Communication Plan, Stakeholder Management Plan, and Pertinent Subsidiary Plans.
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