MODULE Advanced Project Management

YEAR 1

INTAKE July 2022

DATE 16 May 2023

SECTION A [40 MARKS]

Read the case study below and answer ALL the questions that follow.

Automotive Manufacturer Slashes HR Service Costs by 66% in Just Seven Months

Within seven months of program completion, HR expenses were reduced from US $20 million to $6.8 million per year.

Company

As a multi-billion dollar world leader in manufacturing automotive components, this companys customer base includes

virtually every major manufacturer in the global automotive, commercial vehicle, and off-highway markets.

Challenge

As the company emerged from bankruptcy protection, its Human Resources (HR) executives wanted to reduce service

costs, which were averaging US $20 million annually. They developed a strategy to right-source key HR functions that had

been outsourced to a single contractor. By bringing the majority of services back in-house, and partnering with an array of

best-in-class service providers for select elements of the program, the company expected to both improve HR services and

cut costs dramatically. Overall, there were 15 discrete projects included in the HR Transformation Program, encompassing

all aspects of HR service delivery, such as Payroll, Benefits, Health and Welfare, and Pensions.

After eight months, however, the entire program was in jeopardy. Key milestones and deliverables were not being met

for any of the projects, and critical cost overruns were adding up. With just four months remaining to complete the entire

HR Transformation Program, the CIO realized that the organization did not have the program management expertise to

achieve the expected results.

Solution

On a Thursday evening, the CIO asked PM Solutions to assume program management oversight for the HR Transformation

Program. The following Monday morning, PM Solutions provided the first of two world-class Program Managers to

turn around and recover the troubled initiative.

Results

All 15 projects within the program were completed on schedule and on budget, with no service disruptions or outages during

the pilot, transition, or go-live phases.

Within seven months of program completion, the client had reduced HR expenses from US $20 million to $6.8 million per

year, and is targeted for a $5 million per year run rate.

Due to the success on this initiative, PM Solutions continued to work with this client to build an organizational project

management methodology, mature portfolio management practices, and help improve project execution across the

organization.

Source: https://www.pmsolutions.com/case-studies/view/automotive-manufacturer-slashes-hr-service-costs

Answer ALL the questions in this section.

QUESTION 2 (20 Marks)

Plan Scope Management is the process of creating a scope management plan that documents how the project scope will

be defined, validated, and controlled. Use the theory related to inputs, tools & techniques and outputs to analyse how the

case study project scope plan was effectively planned.