Company Background
Tell the story (who, what, when, where, how) of the company or organization for which this project is being done.
Who founded this company? Who are its leaders?
What does this company make or do? What is its target market? What is its financial performance?
When was the company founded? Where was/is it located?
How does the company operate? How effective is the company in its industry? How are its competitors placed in the market?
If using a company website, be sure to cite the source!
Current Process
What is the current process or existing scenario for accomplishing the companys goals? In other words, how does the company conduct business? If, for example, it is a construction business building new homes, what would be the process that encompasses the companys procedure from advertising through getting customers, doing the project and closing out the project deliverable. This current process might be something like:
1) Receive customer specifications
2) Design preliminary floor plan and elevation
3) Send preliminary documents to customer
4) Receive and execute customer changes
5) Create bid for customer contract
6) Run bid through technical and legal departments
7) Ship bid to customer
8) Follow up with customer
9) Negotiate details of bid acceptance
10) Build the negotiated architectural design
11) Oversee construction budget
12) Deliver agreed upon product to customer
13) Receive payment
14) Close out project using lessons learned approach
Your project must fit within the framework of the companys business. In other words, if the company builds single family residences, your project would not be for an office building. It must be related to a specific type of single family home/townhouse.
Project Overview
The project overview is a report on the project undertaking and a discussion of the general situation management finds itself in. This provides important context for the project management team to use in determining methods, approaches, and timeframes, as well as a scope.
For example, if building a new home, you should state whether it will have one or two stories, three or four bedrooms, and any other rooms that are to be included. There may be important details regarding the lot, area of town, and other issues such as landscaping. Be as detailed as possible, since this will assist the instructor in understanding and ultimately approving your project based on his/her belief that you have a viable project topic for a team of 3-4 persons.
Objectives
Objectives describe concrete outcomes that a project will meet so as to be deemed a success. Goals need to be described as specifically as necessary-but no more specifically than that. The purpose is not to artificially constrain the project but to limit the project to as wide a range of acceptable outcomes as possible. Targets are measurements of how well the goals were met. For example:
Goals
Targets
1) Provide construction blueprints to customer
Excellent = < 4 days
Good = < 1 week
Acceptable = < 2 weeks
2) Decrease delivery time on all raw materials from 10 days
Excellent = -40%
Good = -30%
Acceptable = -15%
3) Reduce amount of rework from inspections
Excellent = -80%
Good = -65%
Acceptable = -50%
5) Decrease cost overruns
Excellent = -40%
Good = -30%
Acceptable = -15%
General Approach
What will be the general project approach taken, in terms of managerial and technical changes, to create these changes through the project? For example:
Managerial approach These items relate to how the managers will plan, organize, direct and control the project resources toward the targeted outcome.
Technical approach These items relate to the procedural aspects needed, including logistics of moving equipment to and from the site, designing the blueprints to meet customer expectations, utilizing computers, etc.
Constraints
Describe the things that will limit the project. For example:
1) Budget constraintsThis project will increase profitability by perhaps 30%, but therefore should not cost in excess of three times this savings to ensure that its payback period is relatively short.
2) TimeThis project must be completed in the time agreed upon by builder and customer in the contract terms (proposed to be 90 days time).
3) Customer contractsThe project must not impact operations for current customers nor fail to meet the customer demands for this project.
Regulatory standardsRework and shutdowns caused by inspections that are not up to code will delay and potentially kill the project.
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS A FEW OF THE PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES
