A project plan is a document created at the beginning of the project lifecycle that gives stakeholders and everyone else involved a clear idea of what the project will entail in terms of effort, time, cost, and anticipated results.

The methodology or approach the project manager plans to use to manage the project must be identified before the project plan can be created. Choosing a methodology is important because a methodology provides the frameworkthat is, an overall process and suggested documents and deliverablesthat will guide project development from beginning to end. Some project methodologies are more appropriate for some types of projects than for others.

Over the next few weeks you will develop pieces of a project plan. This week you will determine your methodology based on project requirements and the components needed in your plan.

Read the Manage Your Health Inc. Case Study and complete the assignment below.

Consider the differences between Agile and waterfall.

Select 1 methodology to use for a project plan for this initiative.

Create a simplified project plan such as the examples listed in the Tips section below. Include, at least, the following criteria:

• Name of task
• Duration
• Predecessors
• Notes

After completing your simplified project plan, write a 175-word paragraph and complete the following:

• Define which methodology, Agile or waterfall, is most appropriate for this project. Why? Cite at least 2 sources to support your rationale.
• Describe the following roles for this project: project manager, project sponsor, business analyst, and scrum master or program manager.

You may create your simplified project plan using MicrosoftExcelor another software application of your choice.

Manage Your Health, Inc. Case Study

Manage Your Health, Inc. (MYH) is a Fortune 500 company that provides a variety of healthcare services across the globe. MYH has more than 20,000 full-time employees and more than 5,000 part-time employees. MYH recently updated its strategic plan; key goals include reducing internal costs, increasing cross-selling of products, and exploiting new Web-based technologies to help employees, customers, and suppliers work together to improve the development and delivery of healthcare products and services. Below is an idea the IT department has developed for supporting these strategic goals:

Recreation and Wellness Intranet Project: Provide an application on the current intranet to help employees improve their health. A recent study found that MYH, Inc. pays 20 percent more than the industry average for employee healthcare premiums, primarily due to the poor health of its employees. You believe that this application will help improve employee health within 1 year of its rollout so you can negotiate lower health insurance premiums, providing net savings of at least $30/employee/year for full-time employees over the next 4 years. This application would include the following capabilities:

• Allowing employees to register for company-sponsored recreational programs, such as soccer, softball, bowling, jogging, and walking
• Allowing employees to register for company-sponsored classes and programs to help them manage their weight, reduce stress, stop smoking, and manage other health-related issues
• Tracking data on employee involvement in these recreational and health-management programs
• Offering incentives for people to join the programs and do well in them (e.g., incentives for achieving weight goals, winning sports team competitions, etc.)

Assume that the project will take 6 months to complete and cost about $200,000.