This is a project for the company. It is aimed to develop a help desk system for the help desk department. The system should mainly help the help desk staffs, so that they can keep accurate records of technical problems experienced by user and the solutions to problems that arise.
However, the whole project will be undertaken by using the project methodology below.
The project methodology has five stages. In Initiation stage, we will plan to define main objectives and scope of the project. Also, we should define the requirements for the project. In Planning stage, we should create the project plan. We going to define and organize work scope by using Work Breakdown Structure. We should plan and schedule the works, estimate the budgets of the works. In Executing stage, we will design and build up the technical solution which meets the purpose of the project. In Monitoring and Controlling stage, we need to monitor the quality, time and cost of each project phase in whole project duration. We should determine the project progress, manage review risks and update project management plan. In Closing stage, we should make sure that the project meet the objectives, and the benefits are realized. Finally we can close the project.
By using the project methodology, we can manage the project more effectively. The chances of success should be improved.
Initiation stage is the beginning of the project. It is important because it directly point out the direction of project development. In this stage, we should understand who the stakeholders are. They are all people affecting the project.
The clients of the company
Help desk staffs
The department manager and project sponsor
The project manager and the project team
They are all stakeholders for the project. We should find out their needs and expectations because those can directly help us to define the objectives and scope of the project.
We can get information about their needs and expectations by conducting different ways of communication. We will use Q&A method for the clients of the company such as questionnaire and short phone conversation. We don’t want to use too much time for larger amount clients of the company. We will book a room of the company for holding meetings with help desk staffs. We should spend more times for the meetings because they are the direct users of the new system. We will make an appointment for interviewing the department manager and project sponsor. We don’t want to waste their time, so a one-to-one interview is needed. To evaluate solutions and make recommendations, the project manager should hold the discussion meeting with his project team members. We record all the information. Then, by finding out the needs that are relevant and deliver benefits, we should set a priority list of the needs. A set of objectives and the scope of the project can be easily measured from that list. When we have the clear objectives, we can easily state the requirements for the project. Then we can create the project charter and submit it to the project sponsor. We can move to the next stage when the project charter is approved by project sponsor.
The next stage is the Planning stage. In this stage, the project manager should create a Scope Statement first by using the information we got in Initiation stage. Then we set a list of tasks the project needed in order to meet the objectives defined. The project manager should create a project plan. He determine how much effort required for finishing each tasks and allocate resource for each tasks.
In the situation, the project should be finished in twenty five weeks. There are nine people in our project team including a project manager and eight help desk staffs. We should develop a new web-base help desk system for help desk staffs communicating users and keeping records. We need to employ a System Analyst Designer and a Software Programmer for designing the new system. We will set up a database server and buy some new computers for the help desk department. We also need some software tools to support the project including MS Office, PHP, MS Window Server and Oracle.
This is the Work Breakdown Structure of the project. It show the all tasks which should be done in the project.
This table shows the relation between tasks. For each task, it also shows the estimated length of time it will take and the earliest start. The table also helps us to analyze the critical path of the project schedule. Then we can determine how much effort required for each tasks and allocate resource for each tasks effectively. The tasks under the Monitoring and Controlling stage are not shown in the table because the tasks of this stage are undertaken through the whole project.
Our project team will be separated to two smaller teams in Executing stage. One team is for designing the system which including database and front software. The members are a System Analyst Designer, a Software Programmer and four help desk staffs. Another team is for procuring software and hardware requirements. The members is the another four help desk staffs. One of the help desk staff from each team should be the leader. The two are directly managed by the project manager. They should report the rate of progress to the project manager every day.
In the duration of the project, we should weekly contact the manager of help desk department and the project sponsor. The project manager sums up the key points of the project and reports those to them. Describing how the project is performing, milestones achieved and work planned for the next period
