Assessment item 2—Individual case study
Introduction and Student Guide
This assessment item is to be completed individually.
The case study simulates a project management scenario where the student takes on the role of project manager. The case information is not complete so where necessary students will have to make assumptions and argue the pros and cons for any recommendations they make.
If necessary, students are expected to find relevant information in the academic literature to justify their answers.
To assist students in their assessment solution development the following information is provided:
• Product/project development case description
• Specific assessment questions that must be answered
• Information regarding the submission of the assessment
• Marking guide
Important notes regarding assignment submissions:
1. You must aim to submit your assignment at least 1 hour before the due date. This will avoid unnecessary late penalties if you have any technical issues while submitting your assignment.
2. If you do have a problem uploading your assignment online and cannot get help from TASAC, make sure that you email your assignment files to your tutor before the due date. This will allow your tutor to view the work that was completed before the deadline. Note that you will also be required to submit the assignment online through Moodle.
3. Any drafts in Moodle may be automatically submitted by Moodle at the due date. However, you should not rely on this for your submission as this behaviour can change. Note that this also means that you should not leave something uploaded as a draft if you do not want to it to be submitted automatically at the due date. If you upload after the due date (this includes students with extensions) you must ensure that you press submit for marking or you may incur a late penalty.
Preparation for the assignment
1. You must complete the MP practicals 1-2 before you start this assignment.
2. You must also complete practical 3 before you attempt to add resources to your assignment.
Note that you are required to take your current versions of your Microsoft Project practicals and assignment 2 to your tutorial/practical classes from week 3 onwards. You are scheduled to commence the practicals in week 3 and you are expected to start work on this assignment in week 6 (or earlier).
Case Description
This case study involves a major project of a multi-national company that offers professional services to manage investments through superannuation, mutual funds and a share portfolio. For the purposes of this case study, it will be known as ‘Retirement Planning’. Note that the organisation is able to provide financial services irrespective of the age of the client.
In addition to having major offices in the capital cities, Retirement Planning also operates franchises throughout Australia. The table below shows the number of franchises that are operating within Australia.
State or Territory Number of franchises
NSW 20
Vic 15
Queensland 10
South Australia 5
Western Australia 5
Northern Territory 2
Australian Capital Territory 5
Tasmania 3
Retirement Planning regularly meets with the franchisees. At the last meeting the franchisees expressed concern that they felt the current information technology systems used to support the offering of advice and reporting to clients was increasingly not able to meet their requirements. Fortunately, Retirement Planning management had heard this rumour before the meeting and consulted with the Information Technology Manager (Mairi). Mairi said she recognised that not only was the system probably not able to meet the franchisees’ requirements, but that it was getting more difficult for her staff to maintain as the system had undergone many changes over the years. Further, the staff who had originally developed the system no longer worked for Retirement Planning.
As a result of the meeting it was decided to commence a project that would develop a system to meet the requirements of the franchisees and Retirement Planning. For the purposes of this assignment, you can assume that all the appropriate approvals were negotiated between Retirement Planning and the franchisees and that Dennis was appointed as the project manager.
Dennis knew that for any new system to be introduced and be successful there had to be involvement by the users. However, when giving consideration to this Dennis knew that there would be two key sets of users. There would be those at Retirement Planning and then the franchisees.
Dennis felt that the best way to identify users from Retirement Planning would be to get the Human
Resources Department to provide an organisation chart so that he could review it. After reviewing it, Dennis consulted with management to determine the appropriate staff to be involved in the project. Dennis asked management to inform all staff at Retirement Planning that there was to be a new investor system to be developed in conjunction with the franchisees. He explained that he would need some staff to act as representatives from the various stakeholder groups and that some staff would need to be seconded to work on the project. Following this discussion, it was agreed that initially one person from marketing, one from the share fund management research team, a representative from client advisory and a liaison person who was normally in close contact with the franchisees would be assigned as advisors to the project. Information Technology staff would be seconded to work on the project as necessary. Other staff could be added to the project as required.
In addition to the above, Dennis also discussed the involvement of franchisees with management. It was decided that as well as the company liaison person, it would be best to ask the franchisees to appoint a couple of representatives.
At the first meeting of the project team (initial project briefing meeting), held 3/10/16, Dennis outlined his brief from management. He was aware of the reports that the existing system was not meeting current requirements and that modifying the system was difficult. He explained that this is quite common in information systems and therefore should not reflect badly on the Information Technology staff. He stressed that the main objective of the first meeting was to start to “get a feel for requirements”, although it was clear that a more detailed analysis would be required later. For the purposes of this assignment make your project start date the date for this meeting (3/10/16) and allow 1 day for this meeting.
The meeting agreed that all current inputs and outputs would be incorporated in one way or another in the new system. Dennis was happy as this left open how things were to be done. This provided the opportunity for new efficiencies even for current functions. At the same time, Dennis asked those in attendance to start thinking about new functions that could prove of benefit to the running of the operations within Retirement Planning and also at the respective franchise offices.
The meeting also agreed that it would be best to look at what was required at Retirement Planning in more detail first and then at a later stage to investigate the requirements of the franchisees further. At the same time, the Retirement Planning staff were to make suggestions on what they thought might help the franchisees and the franchisee representatives were to comment on what they believed the franchisees would require.
After the meeting Dennis quietly thought to himself that the project was off to a good start. The team had outlined the general requirements in a manner that prevented the old system simply being reinvented.
Dennis recognised that it was now time for the Information Technology staff to get to work to refine the requirements. He was pleased that Gary had been released to the project. Gary had a reputation for being a good analyst who could work with users to sort out requirements and then express them in technical terms to his Information technology colleagues.
Dennis met with Gary the next day. Gary had been present at the initial project briefing meeting, so Dennis and Gary talked about the general outcome of the meeting to ensure that Gary was clear on the overall requirements.
Two days after the initial project briefing meeting Gary met with the staff from marketing, the person from the share fund management research team, the person from client advisory, the liaison person, William (a database expert from ITD), 3 programmers seconded to the project and the two representatives of the franchisees who had attended Dennis’s first project briefing meeting. Call this the “initial requirements analysis meeting”. Gary stressed it was their responsibility to document detailed requirements. However, he wanted them to concentrate on the fundamentals in the first phase. During the analysis phase there was a lot of rigorous discussion within the group. Also, on some occasions staff felt it necessary to seek clarification from others who had not been assigned to the project and also to double check they had not overlooked any fundamental requirements.
The following requirements were initially identified. For the purposes of this assignment, assume that the initial requirements analysis meeting to produce this table of requirements was held over 3 days.
Program Estimate for detailed analysis
(for one analyst/designer Estimate for design (for one analyst/designer) Comment
Daily Update of mutual fund prices,
superannuation fund prices, share prices
2wks 2wks Obtained from an industry supplier daily
Quarterly investor reports 1wk 2wks For every client
Retirement plans 3wks 3 wks For each client as required; takes into account anticipated dividends, taxation and financial requirements of the investor
Investment plans 2 wks 3 wks For each client as required; takes into account anticipated dividends, taxation and financial requirements of the investor
Client profile 1 wk 1 wk Necessary for every client before any other processing can be done;
includes details such as name and contact details
Financial adviser reports 2 wks 2 wks To be produced quarterly in conjunction with Quarterly Investor report but providing more detailed information than the Client Investor Report
For the purposes of this assignment, assume that detailed analysis of requirements is a predecessor of the design task for each program. Similarly, assume that design is a predecessor of development. You should also assume that the “initial requirements analysis meeting” is the predecessor for all the “detailed analysis of requirements” tasks.
Gary was happy that a list of broad requirements for the first phase had been established. He was able to report the details in the table above to Dennis after his meeting. He felt fortunate that Dennis had been able to arrange for two other analyst /designers (Patricia and Grace) to join the project team. He also received approval to commence the detailed analysis for the above.
At the beginning of the project it was also clear to Dennis that a database expert would be required for the project. He therefore arranged for William to join the team. William also attended Gary’s initial meeting. After hearing the overview of the requirements, William told Dennis ‘You can expect the Database design to take about five weeks, followed by about 6 weeks to make the changes. However, I would not like to start the design until the detailed analysis of all the new programs is completed.’ Dennis agreed that this was reasonable and therefore asked Gary to keep William briefed on requirements.
Dennis had also arranged for the secondment of programming staff. Three programming staff were seconded to the project after the Dennis’s initial meeting. They were Elizabeth, Belinda and David. They were all capable programmers with considerable experience. (They also attended Gary’s meeting.) They told Dennis that based on their experience they felt the following estimates would be a good guide. They also indicated that Dennis should allow 1 week at the end of all the software development and database changes to do the final integration and testing of the new software with the database. This task would require two of the programmers and William. Note that this task (as well as the delivery of the SOEs which will be discussed shortly) is a predecessor for the integration and testing of the software with the SOEs.
Program Estimated Programming time (for one programmer)
Daily Update of mutual fund prices,
superannuation fund prices, share prices
3 weeks
Quarterly investor reports 2 weeks
Retirement plans 5 weeks
Investment plans 6 weeks
Client profile 2 weeks
Financial adviser reports 2 week
From the initial conversation that Dennis had with the two franchisee representatives at the initial project briefing meeting, Dennis became aware that each franchise seemed to have different brands of computer equipment and also different versions of the Operating system. Dennis mentioned to them that for the new system to work properly, it would be necessary for each franchisee to be at an agreed minimum level. He told them he would get Jason to talk to them. Jason was a network support analyst who was also seconded to the project. Jason met with the franchisee representatives the day after Gary’s initial project team meeting. Jason explained that to achieve efficiencies for Retirement Planning and the franchises, it was highly desirable that the franchises all used a SOE. ‘What on earth is that?’ the representatives quizzed. ‘It stands for Standard Operating Environment. In simple terms’ Jason told them ‘it means you would all have the same hardware and software.’ He explained to them that this would allow network staff at Retirement Planning to provide support by allowing them to access the systems remotely and fix any problems for them. They were very pleased, as they had not expected this level of support. ‘But how do we do it?’ they queried. ‘Well it seems to me’ Jason replied ‘that it would be best for me to prepare a specification of hardware and software requirements. I also recommend that we source the equipment from the same supplier. That way, with so much equipment to be purchased we will get a discount for the purchase. Also, I can arrange for it to be delivered with the software installed on each computer. The representatives thought that this was a sensible way to progress, but decided that since it would involve each franchise acquiring new equipment, they would need to consult with the other franchisees. They agreed to get back to Jason with a final decision in 2 weeks. This decision is a predecessor for the task to carry out the analysis and development of the requirements documentation for the SOE shown in the table below. For the purposes of this assignment, assume that the 2 week task to “consult with franchisees regarding the SOE” follows the “initial project briefing meeting” (i.e. the initial project briefing meeting is its predecessor).
Jason also informed Dennis that with regard to the Standard Operating Environment the following activities would be required:
Activity Estimated duration (for one network support analyst)
Analysis and documenting SOE requirements 8 weeks
Preparation of SOE tender specification 8 weeks
Period SOE Tender left open 4 weeks ( no resource to be assigned)
Acceptance of SOE Tender 2 weeks
Assume that analysis and documentation of the SOE requirements is a predecessor of tender specification preparation, the tender must be prepared before it can be “open” and that the processes that lead to a decision and acceptance of a tender will take 2 weeks after the 4 week period that the tender is open.
Assuming that 5 ITD support staff are available for transferring franchisees to the new system the planned sequence is:
State or Territory Sequence
NSW First
Vic Second
Queensland Third
South Australia Fourth
Western Australia Fifth
Northern Territory seventh
Australian Capital Territory sixth
Tasmania seventh
Note that some of the staff are to be sent to the NT and some to Tasmania to complete the final transfers in the same time period.
For the purposes of this assignment, you can assume that the franchisees all agree to the change to the SOE and to the planned sequence for transferring to the new system.
A condition of the specification was that the Servers and Personal Computers were to be delivered to the franchisees complete with the software installed. The equipment was therefore to be delivered to the ITD department at head office 4 weeks after the acceptance of the tender where staff from the ITD department would then install and test the new software on the new equipment ready for shipment to the franchisees.
When all the systems for a particular state or territory are ready for shipment, they are to be sent to the franchisees in that state. Allow one week for delivery after the systems are sent to the franchisees. Once the franchisees in a particular state or territory have received their systems, a member of staff from ITD support will travel to each site to help with the installation and transfer to the new system. The ITD staff member will also provide onsite training for the staff. It was estimated that it would take 1 ITD support staff member 1 week (5 days) for this process. Five ITD staff were to be allocated for this, so that transfer and training activities would be able to take place at five different sites at one time. Earlier, we stated that for the purposes of this assignment that you should only allocate one of each of the types of resource required for a task, unless otherwise stated. This is one of the places where you should allocate more than one resource to an activity. For example, “delivery and training for the NSW systems” should be one task with 5 ITD support staff allocated. This will allow the 5 ITD support staff to carry out “transfer and training” at 5 different sites in NSW simultaneously, i.e. it will take 4 weeks for the 5 staff to complete the “transfer and training” at the 20 sites in NSW.
From the organisation chart supplied by the Human Resource Department, Dennis knew that within the Information Technology department, there are security and privacy staff. From his experience, Dennis knew that it was very difficult to retrofit security and privacy. Dennis therefore decided to talk to Peter about possible requirements for the new system. Peter was pleased that at last someone understood the importance of security and privacy being considered at the start of a system.
Peter explained to Dennis that the franchisees and investors would not necessarily be aware of some of the measures being employed. He said, ‘There will need to be an identification number and password which we will need to authenticate. Every user will be assigned one of these and will use them to log on.’ Peter also went on to explain to Dennis that he would take care of some other security and privacy measures that franchisees, investors and users would not necessarily consider.
He told Dennis about the functions within an Operating System, Database Manager, Network Management software, Virus Checkers and Firewall technology that would also need to be incorporated. Dennis told Peter he was pleased to see he was giving thought to such matters.
Peter was tasked to develop the security requirements document and to be involved in the final configuration, installation and testing of the final system to ensure that all the security requirements were correctly implemented. It was estimated that it would take Peter 3 weeks to develop the security requirements document, followed by a further 3 weeks to complete the security development tasks. For the purposes of this assignment, assume that Peter began his task to develop the security requirements document after the “initial project briefing meeting”. The completion of the security development tasks is also a predecessor to the “integration and testing with the SOE” tasks. Peter is also to supervise the configuration and testing of the systems ready for shipment. The installation of the new software and configuration and testing of the software and security measures on each new system would require the involvement of both Peter and 1 programmer. It was estimated that this would take 1 day per system with both Peter and the programmer working together on the tasks.
Summary of resources involved in the project:
In summary, the staff that are to be allocated to specific tasks in the schedule are:
Resource Staff allocated $/hour Number Available
Analysts/Designers Gary, Patricia, Grace $95.00 3
Programmers Elizabeth, Belinda, David $80.00 3
Database Specialist William $90.00 1
Network support analyst Jason $95.00 1
ITD support staff $70.00 5
Security expert Peter $100 1
Do not include specific names such as Gary in your resource sheet. Use the role name when you enter the resources in the resource sheet. For example, you would enter analyst/designer, 300%, $95.00 per hour.
Assume that the costs for the involvement of the various representatives (franchisee representatives, franchisee liaison person, client advisory staff member, marketing staff etc.) are not direct costs associated with your budget for the project. You do not need to add them (or Dennis) as resources to your resource sheet.
Note: For the purposes of this assignment, unless otherwise specified, you should only allocate one of the required resources to each task.
Assumptions
As you develop your schedule and answer the questions below, there may be assumptions that you need to make about the case study. If that is the case, make sure that you list all your assumptions at the beginning of the document. Assumptions should not contradict information given in the specification and must be reflected in your solution. Each assumption must be justified and stated clearly. Marks will be deducted for any unreasonable assumption or for stating an assumption and then ignoring it in your assignment.
Part A: Developing the schedule
For part A of the assessment you must complete the following tasks and questions. Read all the questions before you commence the tasks. The schedule is to be developed in a Microsoft Project 2013 file named as specified below. The questions are to be answered in a Word document. As stated above, any assumptions must also be listed at the beginning of the Word document. Questions
1. Use Microsoft Project to develop the project schedule. Note that have been asked to include the following in your schedule:
a) The project title as the overall project summary (as task 0 and WBS number 0). All other tasks should be “indented” according to the WBS structure shown below:
Initial Meetings and consultations
Initial Project Briefing Meeting
Consultation with franchisees
Initial requirements analysis meeting
New Programs / Changes
Update of prices – Analysis
…. etc.
Database Changes
Design DB changes
Modify DB
Integration and testing with s/w
Security
Security requirements document
… etc.
SOE
Analysis and documentation of requirements
… etc.
Integration and testing with SOE
NSW
… etc.
Delivery and Training
NSW
… etc.
b) A WBS column before the “Task Name” column and a WBS Predecessors column after the “Task Name” column as shown below:
(task
number
– no column
title) Task
Mode WBS Task
Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors Resource
Names
c) Resource allocation details. To simplify resource allocation for this assignment, there is no need to assign resources to the initial meeting and consultation tasks. However, the tasks must be included in the schedule. All other tasks should have the correct resources assigned as specified in the case description.
d) Holidays. Assume that for this project you must include the following holidays:
Annual holiday: Monday 26th December 2016 – Friday 6th January 2017
e) The critical path(s) automatically displayed in red on the bars of the Gantt chart view of your schedule.
At this point there may be resource over allocation issues. Do not attempt to resolve these before answering question 2. Save this version of your schedule in RP_PartAQ1.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission.
2. At this point ignore any resource over allocations. Save a copy of your RP_PartAQ1 file in RP_PartAQ2.mpp. For the purposes of this question only you can assume that there would be no resource constraints. You therefore ignore any resource over-allocation. Do not attempt
to resolve any resource over allocation (if any exists) at this point. Using your RP_PartAQ2.mpp schedule:
a. Use the “view tab” filter to display only the critical tasks. Provide a screenshot showing the task names and the Gantt chart of all the tasks on the critical path(s).
b. If you were asked to reduce the overall duration of the project by reducing the duration of some of the tasks in the project, what tasks would you target for reduction and why?
c. In your RP_PartAQ2.mpp file, reduce the duration of the tasks as outlined in your part b answer. Highlight the changes you have made in the file. Make sure that your changes have reduced the project duration by 3 weeks compared to the RP_PartAQ1.mpp file. Call this file RP_PartAQ2.mpp. You will be required to submit this file as part of your assignment submission. This file is not to be modified/developed further.
3. This question relates to resource allocation and requires you to make another copy of your original RP_PartAQ1.mpp in a file called RP_PartAQ3.mpp .
a. How can you tell if there are any resource over-allocation issues?
b. Use the software to check for any resource over-allocation in your project. Did you have any resource over-allocation issues in your schedule? If so, describe where they occurred. (Note that it is possible that there are no issues in your project schedule.)
c. If there was any resource over-allocation in your project, resolve it now.
d. Did this have any impact on your overall project duration? Explain. (Be specific – if there is a change how much of a change. Explain why you do or don’t see a change iin the overall duration.)
Continue working with this RP_PartAQ3.mpp file for the remainder of the questions in Part A.
4. Write a memo to Mairi describing the length of the project, the expected completion date of the project, together with an explanation of the factors that cause the project to require that length of time. The completion date is to be the date when all franchisees will have had the new system installed and have completed their training.
You must also include a summary of the direct labour costs for each of the resource types working on the project. Present the costs in a table similar to the following:
Resource Name Cost
Analysts/designers
Programmers
Database Specialists
Network Support Analysts
ITD Support Staff
Security Expert
Total direct labour costs:
Assume that you will send the project schedule as an attachment to the memo. You should therefore refer to the attachment in your memo.
Note: there are some notes about memos provided on the course website underneath this assignment specification.
5. What should Dennis do to ensure that the project will meet the objectives? (Hint, describe the good PM practices that you would expect Dennis to follow to ensure that the project runs smoothly and meets its objectives.)
6. There are two dimensions associated with successful project management. One is the technical dimension which includes, planning, monitoring and control of project performance etc. The other is the “sociocultural” dimension where project managers are responsible for the “project culture”, encouraging teamwork, being proactive and resolving problems etc. Describe at least two instances where you believe that Dennis has shown good examples of this and explain why what he did was beneficial for the project.
7. Identify at least two tasks and/or costs that might have been overlooked in this project. This requires you to think specifically about what is being accomplished in this project and what may have been missed.
8. Are there any particular staffing issues that may be of concern? How would you approach those issues if you were the PM?

Part B Modifying the schedule
Now assume that in addition to discussing the SOE with the franchisees, the franchisee representatives were also asked to consult with the franchisees about any additional requirements from their point of view.
From that consultation, additional new functions were identified. The table below lists the additional functions and the time estimates for each of the extra features. Most of these were to allow clients of Retirement Planning to obtain details for themselves from the system rather than have to work through the franchises, although the financial advisers could also provide these details. It was agreed that the additional tasks should also be included in the schedule.
For the purposes of this assignment, make the “consultation with franchisees” task the predecessor for the detailed analysis task for each of the additional programs in the table below.
Program Analysis (time for one anlayst) Design (time for one
analyst/designer) Programming (time for one programmer) Comment
Client report A 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks Display, store in PDF format and then
client or financial adviser to print
Client report B 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks To allow client or financial adviser to
download investments in spreadsheet
Margin call simulator program 3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks To allow financial advisers and sophisticated users to simulate effects of investments and
variations in margin loans
Client history transaction 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks To record details when investment transactions occurred
Client history report 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks To display and print historical investments of clients
Note that this means that the detailed analysis for each of the programs it the table above will also be predecessors for the database “design changes” task. The development of these programs must also be included in the predecessor list for integration and testing of the database and new software task.
Questions
1. Copy RP_PartAQ3.mpp to RP_PartB.mpp. In RP_PartB.mpp, amend the project schedule to provide for the additional programs. Highlight the additional tasks in your RP_PartB mpp file. If the addition of the extra tasks result in any resource over-allocation issues, resolve these issues now.
2. What (if any) is the impact of adding the additional tasks to develop the additional programs to satisfy the franchisee requirements on
a. The overall duration of the project? Explain why/why not.
b. The total direct cost of the project? Explain why/why not.
In your answers to (a) and (b) above, be very specific about the actual amounts that the duration or costs change.
3. Given the additional requirements from the franchisees, William advises you that the design of the database changes will require 6 weeks and it will now take 8 weeks to implement the changes. Make these modifications to your schedule
4. What (if any) is the impact of the additional time required for the database tasks on
a. The overall duration of the project? Explain why/why not.
b. The total direct cost of the project? Explain why/why not.
In your answers to (a) and (b) above, be very specific about the actual amounts that the duration or costs change.
5. Jason also advises that the delivery of the SOEs is only going to take 1 week, not 4. Make this change to your schedule. Highlight the change in your solutions
6. What (if any) is the impact of the additional time required for the database tasks on
a. The overall duration of the project? Explain why/why not.
b. The total direct cost of the project? Explain why/why not.
In your answers to (a) and (b) above, be very specific about the actual amounts that the duration or costs change.
Submission of Assessment
The assignment is to be submitted as five separate files using the electronic assignment submission system that can be accessed from the link on the course website. The following five files should be submitted:
1. The Word document with the assumptions and answers to the questions for Part A and Part B. 2. The four Microsoft project files created for Part A and Part B named according to the specifications: RP_PartAQ1.mpp, RP_PartAQ2.mpp, RP_PartAQ3.mpp and RP_PartB.mpp.
Marking Guide
Assignment Question Criteria Marks available Marks awarded
Part A
Assumptions Listed, justified and stated clearly at the start of the Word document (if any )
Q1 The adequacy of the Project Schedule 7
Q2 a) CPs; b) choice of tasks and reasons; c) shortened mpp file 3
Q3 Dealing with resource issues 3
Q4 Appropriateness of the written memo with all the information included and corresponding to the schedule. 3
Q5 Ensuring the project meets its objectives 3
Q6 Identifying “good sociocultural practices” 3
Q7 Missing tasks and/or costs 2
Q8 Staffing concerns 1
Sub Total Part A 25
Part B
Q1 The adequacy of the amended Project Plan with additional tasks 2
Q2 Description of Impact on cost and duration (must explain) 2
Q3 Change to duration of database tasks 1
Q4 Description of impact on cost and duration (must explain) 2
Q5 Change to delivery time for SOE 1
Q6 Description of impact on cost and duration (must explain) 2
Sub Total Part B 10
TOTAL 35