Integrated Project Building Your Project Plan Exercise 1Developing the Project Narrative and Goals You have been assigned to a project team to develop a new product or service for your organization. Your challenge is to rst decide on the type of product or service you wish to develop. The project choices can be exible, consisting of options as diverse as construction, new product development, IT implementation, and so forth. Develop a project scope write-up on the project you have selected. Your team is expected to create a project history, complete with an overview of the project, an identiable goal or goals (including project targets), the general project management approach to be undertaken, and signicant project constraints or potential limiting eects. Additionally, if appropriate, identify any basic resource requirements (i.e., personnel or specialized equipment) needed to complete the project. What is most important at this stage is creating a history or narrative of the project you have come up with, including a specic statement of purpose or intent (i.e., why the project is being developed, what it is, what niche or opportunity it is aimed to address). The write-up should fully explain your project concept, constraints, and expectations. It is not necessary to go into minute detail regarding the various subactivities or subcomponents of the project; it is more important to concentrate on the bigger picture for now. Sample Background Analysis and Project Narrative for ABCups, Inc. Founded in 1990, ABCups, Inc., owns and operates 10 injection-molding machines that produce plastic drinkware. ABCups's product line consists of travel mugs, thermal mugs, steins, and sports tumblers. The travel mugs, thermal mugs, and steins come in two sizes: 14 and 22 ounces. The sports tumblers are oered only in the 32-ounce size. All products except the steins have lids. The travel and thermal mugs consist of a liner, body, and lid. The steins and sports tumblers have no lining. There are 15 colors oered, and any combination of colors can be used. The travel and thermal mugs have a liner that needs to be welded to the outer body; subcontractors and screen printers weld the parts together. ABCups does no welding, but it attaches the lid to the mug. ABCups's customer base consists primarily of distributors and promotional organizations. Annual sales growth has remained steady, averaging 2%-3% each year. Last year's revenues from sales were $70 million. Current Process ABCups's current method for producing its product is as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Quote job. Receive/process order. Schedule order into production. Mold parts. Issue purchase order to screen printer with product specications. Ship parts to screen printer for welding and artwork. Receive returned product from screen printer for nal assembly and quality control. Ship product to customer. At current processing levels, the entire process can take from two to four weeks, depending on order size, complexity, and the nature of current production activity. Overview of the Project Because of numerous complaints and quality rejects from customers, ABCups has determined to proactively resolve outstanding quality issues. The rm has determined that by bringing welding and screen printing functions \"in-house,\" it will be able to address the current quality problems, expand its market, maintain better control over delivery and order output, and be more responsive to customers. The project consists of adding three new processes (welding, screen printing, and improved quality control) to company operations. ABCups has no experience in or equipment for welding and screen printing. The organization needs to educate itself, investigate leasing or purchasing space and equipment, hire trained workers, and create a transition from subcontractors to in-house operators. The project needs a specied date of completion so that the transition from outsourcing to company production will be smooth and products can be delivered to customers with as little disruption to shipping as possible. Management's strategy is to vertically integrate the organization to reduce costs, increase market share, and improve product quality. ABCups is currently experiencing problems with its vendor base, ranging from poor quality to ineectual scheduling, causing ABCups to miss almost 20% of its customers' desired ship dates. Maintaining complete control over the product's development cycle should improve the quality and on-time delivery of ABCups's product line. Objectives Goals 1. Targets Meet all project deadlines without jeopardizing customer satisfaction within a one-year project time Excellent = 0 missed deadlines frame. Good = 1-5 missed deadlines Acceptable = 25% Acceptable = <8 base