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Microsoft Word - Ass2_2022 Faculty of Science and Engineering Department of Computing COMP3770/6770: Management of IT Systems and Projects 2022 – Individual Assignment 2 – 20% of semester Considering the Triple Constraint, while capturing the expertise of Company X Due : 5pm – Thursday 14th April https://unitguides.mq.edu.au/unit_offerings/149797/unit_guide#assessment_task_426473 Lecturer: Dr. Peter Busch Email:
[email protected] COMP3770/6770 Page 2 MS Project 1 (20 marks - 20%) Scope statement 2 Date: March 3rd 2022 Prepared by Dr. Peter Busch – Chief Technology Officer - Company X Background Company X - an SME founded in 2012, provides IT services. The following paragraph is taken from the paper presented in appendix 1. The founders share extensive experience in the IT industry with ways to improve the delivery of IT services. Together they’ve formed a company that is continually growing with over 25 team members located in the heart of Sydney. The business is built on best practice to ensure an engagement model that is responsive and flexible. The company values the success of guiding and supporting their clients through the focus of using DevOps strategies enabling them to deliver automated Azure platforms and data centres. Company X also uses Microsoft 365 and Citrix to build modern and secure workplaces for their clients. The team provides advice and solutions by integrating best practices with leading technologies. They have a strong record in delivering IT Infrastructure projects across a diverse range of clients that are on-time, within budget and high-quality outcomes. Their services include Azure Factory, Modern Workplace, Cyber Security, Managed Services, Hybrid Cloud, DevOps, Digital Healthcare and Business, Industry Solutions, WiFi, Modern Desktop Servicing, Windows Analytics and more. These services enable the support of IT needs across a range of locations and platforms for optimal performance, allowing companies to focus on their core business effectively and efficiently. Their organizational structure chart (figure 1) is generalized (Cen and Busch, 2019 p. 916). Figure 1: illustrating the structure chart of Company X (with IT specific staff in the red rectangle) 1 Or other suitable PM software – up to you! 2 See appendix 1 for a full background to the scenario presented here. COMP3770/6770 Page 3 Answer Q1 and Q2: Q1. Assume YOU are the project manager (PM) in company X (a real IT company) illustrated above. Fifteen (15) staff are illustrated in figure 1, of which we could consider the 8 profiled in the red rectangle to comprise the actual IT staff. The CTO (i.e., me - with the CEO’s blessing) has instructed you (PM) to prepare a project plan for a knowledge system garnering expertise in the firm, regarding the sorts of technologies listed in the background above. To remain competitive company X needs to draw better upon their internal knowledge. The system requirements at a high level are as follows: System Characteristics and Requirements: 3 1. The system must run on the company’s existing intranet using current hardware and software as much as possible. 2. The new system should be user friendly. 3. The main requirements of the system are to: Allow potentially all employees to access stored expertise in areas of the company listed above. The system should also enable staff to determine which of their colleagues have expertise in specific areas, should the system itself not store such specialised knowledge. The system should be up to date insofar as staff who may have left the company are so recorded, meaning that expertise may need to be sought from outside the organisation. The system should provide all location details for current staff, including their position description and biographical information. Provide a means for staff to enter areas of expertise they may have. Such expertise descriptions will be in the form of keywords chosen from a thesaurus in the system; staff will also be able to add vetted keywords, should satisfactory keywords not exist. Project success criteria: Our goal is to complete this project within 4 months for no more than $? 4 The main goal is increase access to expertise by providing a system that can be used by all 25 staff in the company ideally, even though the 8 staff listed above, comprise the core of staff with most of the IT knowledge (15 marks). Q2. Comment on the importance of the Triple Constraint with reference to both the concepts provided in Cen and Busch (2019 – see Appendix 1) and relating such concepts to the scenario you have worked on in question 1. What do you think are the most important constraints in the assignment scenario here – Scope, Time, or Cost? Why? (5 marks). 3 Note – you are not installing this system, merely working out the project management for the installation! 4 Meaning you tell me what you think the project will cost with the 8 staff members, over a 4-month timeframe. COMP3770/6770 Page 4 Basic assignment steps a. You are the PM as illustrated in figure 1. Consider your salary cost too. b. Company X wants a knowledge system which can store expertise on the platforms, software and cloud knowledge of 8 staff in particular, mentioned in the scope above. c. As PM, it is assumed you have some knowledge of the potential of cloud. d. Company X would like their intranet knowledge system online in 4-month timeframe. e. For consideration here, Company X has 1 PM (you), and 7 other IT staff. 5 f. You as PM can work out the budget - there is no correct answer here! What do you think it might cost over the 4 months? One way to work the payments out might be to work out an hourly rate of pay and multiple by the number of days per week and weeks per month your staff might be allocated to the lab. Again - there is no one correct answer here, just how well you explain yourself and why. You can be creative and Google costings - just write where you derived these costings in your report The more thorough/convincing/plausible your explanation is – the better. g. Consider, as with any workplace, the above staffing is only partially dedicated to achieving the end goal of the knowledge system establishment in 4 months. You decide what fraction of time is spent by staff on this initiative! h. This project represents an intra-organisational view of PM. i. Consider the Triple Constraint as discussed in appendix 1 (Cen and Busch, 2019) and answer question 2. 5 You are the PM - so you work out the costings of these staff. ‘Google’ what the salaries might be. COMP3770/6770 Page 5 Assignment Algorithm 1. Implement the above project scope (basic assignment steps) into MS Project (or appropriate PM software). You are free to modify the WBSs as you see appropriate (15 marks). Please answer the following: - How long will your project take? How did you calculate this? (explain) Provide the critical path (e.g., figure 1 below) for your implementation. You may use the network diagram feature in MS Project (or equivalent) and modify/comment to illustrate your point, rather than redrawing from scratch. Provide a discussion of your approach – how did you arrive at your costings, timeframes, how staff were allocated and so on? Hint: higher grades tend to refer to sources of information 6 Figure 1: Determining the critical path for project X (source: Schwalbe, 2018 p. 260). 2. Write your answer to question 2 (5 marks). 6 See assignment 1 – appendix 1. COMP3770/6770 Page 6 Deliverables – soft copy only 1. One (combined) pdf file containing your MS project (or equivalent) solutions (question 1), which includes: a. WBS charts, including i. Gantt chart ii. Network diagram iii. Resource graphs etc., and discussion/commentary/costings. 2. The answer to question 2. Submission Place your soft copy (1 file) in the appropriate folder on iLearn (Turnitin submission). Marking Rubric Note higher grades include examples from the literature. Higher grades show greater initiative in costings, providing explanation for why staff cost what they did, reasons for time durations on tasks and so on. The critical path will be well explained, showing good understanding of what is taking place. Developing (Borderline Pass-Fail) Functional (Pass) Proficient (Credit) Advanced (Distinction to HD) Comprehending the underlying scenario An understanding that organisations have PM strengths, expressed through basic statements articulating how some organisations may be better because of PM. Some indication literature exists providing wider examples of CM, staffing etc. in organisations. Recourse to the literature, illustrating similar organisation profiles with regard to CM and PM, staffing etc. and how these factors relate to the material under study. A comprehensive study of the literature providing deeper examples of similar CM and how PM has strengthened them. PM software Limited use of PM software showing some understanding of the tool. Competent use of PM software showing understanding of the software, perhaps making some basic mistakes. Good understanding of the software, using tool appropriately without any significant mistakes. Excellent understanding of the PM software, using tool appropriately at an expert level. PM modelling Limited understanding of PM modelling, some obvious mistakes. Competent understanding of PM modelling, some trivial mistakes still in evidence, but generally an understanding of what is taking place and why. Good grasp of PM modelling bringing in other examples of PM modelling from the literature explaining how