TCM 750 Term Project Instructions
This term project aims to assess the student’s ability to analyze, evaluate and modify an organization’s business processes to develop project management strategies and operational managerial actions .Students should apply project management tools, techniques, and skills and demonstrate autonomy, accountability, adaptability, and judgment to manage complex professional and technical activities. In this individual assignment, students will determine a company’s current project management maturity level and create an action plan for moving to the next level.
All submitted documents must be submitted via Blackboard in MS Word. Sample submissions are also posted as references for formatting and expected quality. There are two main deliverables associated with this term project:
- Company Interview
The purpose of this assignment is to have you interview an organization to determine the organization’s current level of maturity by following Kerner’s Project Management Maturity Model. You will work on this assignment individually. You may choose any company including the one in which you work. If you do choose your own company, you must choose someone other than yourself to interview. This person should be familiar with the interworking of the organization. They do not need to have the title of Project Manager.
You will apply the assessment instrument for level 2 as outlined on pages 70-74 of the textbook. You will ask the interviewee the questions on pages 71-72 and record the score as instructed. You will score the responses per Exhibit 2 on pages 72-73. You will then create a table like the one at the bottom of page 73 with X’s in the appropriate cells. Finally, you will provide a discussion of which phases (Embryonic, Executive Management Acceptance, Line Management Acceptance, Growth, and Maturity) appear to be complete following the example at the top of page 74 (high scores at +6 or greater indicate the phase is complete). For a point of reference, the interview should be 45 minutes to an hour in length rather than a 5-10-minute endeavor.
Hint: Choose a company that is easy to access. You may want to avoid large multinational companies as they typically are willing to complete a phone interview, but not willing to review any action plan.
Grading Rubric
10 Points Student provided each of the 20 questions (from pages 71-72) with the score for each one
10 Points Student provided at least 2-3 sentences of backup per question
10 Points Student identified at the end of the interview where they think the organization is regarding the Project Management Life Cycle phase and provides backup for the phase identified.
- Action Plan and PM Tools
This assignment aims to analyze the results of the Company Interview; develop an action plan for getting the organization to the next level/phase of the PM Maturity Model and utilize project management tools in doing so. Students will demonstrate autonomy, accountability, adaptability, and judgment to manage complex professional and technical activities.
Upon completing the Company Interview Assignment, you will follow the methodology outlined in “How to Analyze a Case in 16 Steps” to write a term paper including an action plan with recommendations for getting the organization to the next level/phase. This action plan is to include project management tools such as a schedule, budget, resources, and defined levels of quality. The action plan is to address characteristics of the respective level as well as common roadblocks which are provided in the text. You are to cite the text as much as possible as the rationale behind your action plan which will provide credibility to your recommendations. In other words, you are not just making up the recommendations based on your own level of understanding prior to taking this course.
Hint :The action plan should have content like a case study. Please provide the schedule, budget, communications plan, etc. for the company to implement your action plan.
The Structure (Also see samples on Blackboard):
- Title Page: The recommended length for a title is no more than 12 words.
- Table of Contents:
- Executive Summary: This is more like an abstract than an introduction. Briefly explain the problem, analysis of alternatives, their detailed recommendations, implementation, and how to evaluate the success of the recommendations.
- Background Information: Provide a brief synopsis of the case as presented. Do not just copy and paste from the book, but rather summarize the case.
- Problem Statement: This should be as clear and concise as possible and should be a statement.
- Analysis of Alternatives: This is an opportunity to explore all alternatives that were not pursued in the next step.
- Detailed Recommendations: These detailed recommendations need to be as specific as possible.
- Implementation, Evaluation, and Maintenance Plan: This section needs to specifically address how the detailed recommendations should be implemented and each implementation plan needs to have an evaluation process that explains how its success or failure will be measured.
- Appendices: Appendices are for references, the PM Tools (budget, schedule, etc.), and any other items that do not fit the above headings
Grading Rubric
5 Points Student used “How to Analyze a Case in 16 Steps” methodology
30 Points Student created and provided the required PM Tools as appendices
6 points: Student provided a legible view of their schedule (not the MS Project file)
6 points: Student provided a budget that aligns with their implementation plan
6 points: Student provided a resource management plan
6 points: Student provided a quality plan that aligns with their implementation plan
6 points: Student provided and completed approval templates
5 points Problem statement was clear and concise
5 points Student explored at least 3 alternatives
5 points Student provided detailed recommendations for the alternatives
5 points Student provided an implementation plan
5 points Student provided an evaluation plan for their recommendations
How to Analyze a Case in 16 Steps
1.Preview the case. The text uses the cases as a supplement. Try to figure out the connection between the content of the text you have been assigned to read and the case you have chosen.
2.Read the Case .Once you have reviewed the case, read it in detail, taking careful notes on important facts, problems, and issues found within the case. While you are reading the case in detail, you should be looking for and recording major problems, subproblems, controllable and uncontrollable variables, constraints and limitations, alternatives available to the organization, and possible quantitative techniques that might be used in solving the problems facing the organization. These don’t have to match your final selections in steps 3-16. They are merely thoughts at this point.
3.Formulate the Problem .If you have done a good job with the first two steps, problem formulation will be greatly simplified .The purpose of this step is to specify the major problem or issues at hand. At this point, you should not be concerned with what techniques may be used to solve the problem. Instead, you should strive to isolate the major issues and the central problems facing the organization. To formulate the problem, it may be necessary to reread certain parts of the case .After the problem has been formulated, it should be summarized and recorded in writing.
4.Identify Important Variables .Once the problem has been identified, the next step is to identify important variables .These variables could be the number of people in a maintenance department, the number of items to produce in a manufacturing operation, the return from an investment, the state of the economy in six months, the outcome of future legislation or a political race, and so on .The variables that are identified in this step should be related to the problem .Only those variables that could have an impact on the problem should be identified .Furthermore, it is important to distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable variables .A controllable variable is one over which the manager or decision-maker has total control .An uncontrollable variable is one over which the manager or decision-maker has little or no control.
5.Determine Organizational Objectives .Before any problem can be solved, it is necessary to specify the goals and objectives of the organization For most situations, this will be profit maximization or cost minimization .However, other organizational goals or objectives may be important .For example, a hospital may desire a specific patient-to-doctor ratio .It is desirable to specify mathematically the objectives of the organization. For example, it may be possible to develop a mathematical expression for the organization’s profit. This could be similar or identical to the objective function of a linear programming problem. It if is impossible to write a mathematical expression for the organization’s objectives, a concise written statement of the organization’s objectives should be prepared.
6.Determine Organizational Restrictions or Constraints. Typically, companies and organizations have several limitations or constraints over which they have little or no control, for example, short-run restrictions of plant capacity, or legal restraints on trade and business interactions .Whenever possible, mathematically specify these restrictions and constraints. When a such specification is not possible, a concise word statement should be written.
7.List the Alternatives .The next step is to list the alternatives to management to solve the problem. A common mistake is not developing a complete list. Creativity and imagination are useful talents to use in developing viable alternatives. If an alternative is not listed, it likely will not be considered during the later stages of analysis .As a result, many viable alternatives may be overlooked .Don’t forget that you will always have the alternative of doing nothing.
8.Analyze the Assumptions. The eighth step is to discover and specify assumptions that must be made in analyzing the case .You may have to assume, for example, that demand for a particular product over a specified period is constant; that the only relevant inventory costs are holding costs and carrying costs; or that the arrival of individuals at a hospital is Poisson distributed. All relevant assumptions must be concisely formulated and listed.
9.Select a Quantitative Technique .If a good job has been done in the previous steps, it will be easy to select the appropriate quantitative analysis technique .This technique will allow you to solve the problem and obtain the organizational objectives without violating the inherent restrictions and constraints while operating within the assumptions of the situation.
10.Acquire Input Data .Once a quantitative technique has been selected, the next step is to acquire the necessary input data. To do this you simply identify what inputs are necessary and locate these data in the case .In some cases, however, the necessary input data for one or more quantitative techniques will not be presented in the case .For these situations, it may be feasible to make assumptions about the input data .If such assumptions are made, don’t forget to list them in Step 8.
11.Develop the Solution. This usually involves the application of one or more quantitative techniques, such as linear programming, the transportation algorithm, an EOQ model, and so on. The solution should often embody important qualitative and judgmental factors that cannot be quantified .Your solution should be both quantitative and qualitative .People solve problems, models do not .If the assumptions made in applying the quantitative techniques are not consistent with the situation, the techniques should not be used or should be used as an input factor along with other judgmental factors in making a sound decision.
12.Test the Solution. When quantitative techniques are used, the solution should be tested for both internal and external validity. Internal validity checks the extent to which the model and quantitative analysis technique are internally consistent and accurate .External validity investigates the extent to which the solution and model accurately represent the actual situation under investigation .All management science techniques can undergo sensitivity analysis. Sensitivity analysis tests to see how sensitive the final solution is to changes in the input data or in the model itself. Highly sensitive solutions should be analyzed with care .If the input data could be inaccurate or if the model could be incorrectly specified, great care should be taken in interpreting the solution.
13.Analyze the results .The solution of the quantitative technique may represent only one of many inputs a decision-maker uses in solving the stated problem. Moreover, the model results may have to be tempered with information about the environment, the assumptions of the model, and the quality of the input data .Analyzing the results involves incorporating the management science solution with the judgmental factors that have an important bearing on the possible alternative actions .At this stage, it may become apparent that you have incorrectly formulated the problem, and thus it will be necessary to return to an earlier step to incorporate considerations not previously included. The result of this step is a written statement that integrates the quantitative techniques with all other factors deemed important to the solution of the stated problem.
14.Formulate the Action Plan .The formulation of the action plan is an extension of the analysis of results (the previous step).Here you must make specific recommendations aimed at solving all of the present and future problems .Undesirable situations that may occur in the future should be addressed during this state .In addition, the action plan should also embody the rationale you used in selecting alternatives for inclusion in the action plan.
15.Present the Action Plan. The action plan or recommendations must be presented in writing .Because of the importance of this presentation, the following section How to Present a Case Review will be devoted to presenting the results of a case analysis.
16.Implement, Evaluate, and Maintain the Action Plan .Unfortunately, many people believe their job is over after the action plan has been formulated. However, for an action plan to be useful, it must be carefully implemented; periodically evaluated, and maintained .Implementation is the process of placing the plan into action; it requires that you develop written procedures for making the action plan operational .Procedures should also be established that will force the periodic evaluation of that plan .In TCM 750, the evaluation plan is one of the most overlooked aspects of the case reviews. This is the plan that will quantitatively measure the success or failure of the action plan once it is implemented. Since we live in a dynamic environment, it becomes necessary to evaluate the action plan periodically and modify it as necessary .This modification is also called plan maintenance.
