Project management is one of the important procedures that entails planning, coordinating, and managing the resources given to successfully fulfill the specified objectives (Lewis, 2012). The procedure may also include feasibility studies and defining the project scope. I've been concentrating on my contribution to the overall endeavor of building an information technology project and implementing Desire2Learn software for TUI. As a result, the report provides an overview of the steps taken. The plan design is described in the following section.
We were charged in the first round with researching project management software, which I chose as my planned project activity. The software was meant to bring coherence between the managers and employees. The overall purpose of the application is to make it easy for the managers to coordinate and collaborate with their teams. As such, I was involved in developing a project management software for managing teams working from the different environment but aiming to achieve the same goal. In other words, the application is a great tool for school to manage students and their studies. Learners will be able to follow and understand as well as follow closely what is happening in the ongoing activities within the school environment.
The second phase of the project entailed assessing if the software is user-friendly, target the intended person, has good appearance and excellent security. Further, it is crucial to ensure that the application is flexible and meets TUI standards of operation. Therefore, the activities in step involved incorporating chat forum for live conversation between and among the users. The ideas are meant to enable the school's management to telecommunicate with students, helping them to meet their education objective effectively. Other items included are a to-do list, file sharing options and calendar of the milestones (Kerzner, 2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons. However, it is imperative to state that I continually faced several problems, so I opted to use Basecamp which is a good communication tool.
Another activity encompassed identifying the persons that would be involved in the implementation process. Since the project will primarily involve updating TUI current system, the set objectives will be met as work moves through the project life cycle. The purpose of the action involved selecting staff and determination of the availability of resources to meet the deadline which will be third days. Implementation of the project requires sufficient human resource with adequate experience and skills to ensure successful completion (Lewis, 2012).
Plan Design
The project will be conducted and completed in several phases, and each will have particular control and guidance. The first stage will entail developing a business case, undertaking a feasibility study, establishing project charter, and appointing project team. The second phase will be about planning and will involve project director, project, procurement and risk managers, as well as university administrators. Also, the process will encompass staff management process such as training. Individuals will be equipped with information about the background of the project, overview of the infrastructure and TUI facilities, and project process. Additionally, planning will involve estimating time for project competition (Lewis, 2012). Also, there will be a transition of team members from one activity to another if needed. Basecamp will, therefore, be a useful tool since it allows users outline their activities, roles, and responsibilities.
At the same time, it will be fundamental to perform software usability survey focusing on the stakeholders, leaders, and executives at the university as well as project managers to determine if the endeavor is worthwhile (Kerzner, 2013). The action will take less than 15 days, and no other activities will be carried out during that period. If the software is useful to the managers, a decision will be made allowing the project to proceed. The case will entail evaluating if the installation of the Desire2Learn software will be beneficial to the students. All the initial steps will be focused on formalizing the project. The survey will allow determination of whether or not the new application will be compatible with the current infrastructure. Here, the project team will develop a test network to ensure compatibility and identification of necessary changes. I will be the leader of the team, and I will provide weekly review and update regarding the project progress to the university's project manager. The action will be coupled with financial planning. The members of the project team will have a maximum of ten days to determine the cost that will be associated with the development of the new software. At the same time, there will be an estimation of the additional costs related to the testing of the software.
Once the financial estimates are made and important information about the software obtained, purchase of the needed components will be made. Two weeks will be allowed to ensure delivery of each element. In the meantime, the fourteen days will be spent carrying out further tests and determination of the feasibility of the project as well as if the university's current infrastructure will be able to support the software (Kerzner, 2013). Also, the time will be used to evaluate the perception of the student regarding the intended impact of the project which will provide useful information to the IT services team and enable mitigation of unforeseen obstacles.
Finally, the moment the product arrives, the next step will be the installation of the software by the IT staff, creating an account for the students and turning the system on and making it ready for use. The entire process is estimated to take a maximum of three weeks where the staff would have created students accounts already. In particular, this is so because it may take time to import all data from the old system to the new one. During this time, I will be providing regular feedback to the stakeholders and project managers about the progress or challenges encountered.
Conclusion
For the duration of the course, I have been focusing on efforts related to designing an IT project for implementation of Desire2Learn software for Trident University. The paper has looked at project implementation efforts needed. The first, section provides a discussion of the activities carried out in the initial stages which includes examining project management software which I choose as my plan project activity and assessing if the software is user-friendly, target the intended person, has good appearance and excellent security. The next segment deals with outlining the plan design starting with the initial phase of the project. The report offer the early planning of the project, scope, financial estimates, procurement process, risk management and mitigation measures to ensure successful installation of the software. Also, there has been a need to develop a schedule that provides an overview of the activities and how they will be carried out.
References
Kerzner, H. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, J. P. (2012). Fundamentals of project management: developing core competencies to help outperform the competition. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
