Additional Case 1: Green Computing Research Project

Intro:

You are working for We Are Big, Inc., an international firm with over 100,000 employees located in several different countries. A strategic goal is to help improve the environment while increasing revenues and reducing costs. The Environmental Technologies Program just started, and the VP of Operations, Natalie, is the program sponsor. Ito is the program manager, and there is a steering committee made up of ten senior executives, including Natalie, overseeing the program. There are several projects underneath this program, one being the Green Computing Research Project. The CIO and project sponsor, Ben, has given this project high priority and plans to hold special interviews to hand-pick the project manager and team. Ben is also a member of the program steering committee. Before coming to We Are Big, Inc., Ben sponsored a project at a large computer firm to improve data center efficiency. This project, however, is much broader than that one was. The main purpose of the Green Computing Research Project is to research possible applications of green computing including:

· Data center and overall energy efficiency

· The disposal of electronic waste and recycling

· Telecommuting

· Virtualization of server resources

· Thin client solutions

· Use of open source software, and

· Development of new software to address green computing for internal use and potential sale to other organizations

The budget for the project was $500,000, and the goal was to provide an extensive report, including detailed financial analysis and recommendations on what green computing technologies to implement. Official project request forms for the recommended solutions would also be created as part of the project.

Ben decided to have a small group of people, five to be exact, dedicated to working on this six-month project full-time and to call on people in other areas on an as-needed basis. He wanted to personally be involved in selecting the project manager and have that person help him to select the rest of the project team. Ben wanted to find people already working inside the company, but he was also open to reviewing applications for potential new employees to work specifically on this project as long as they could start quickly. Since many good people were located in different parts of the world, Ben thought it made sense to select the best people he could find and allow them to work virtually on the project. Ben also wanted the project manager to do more than just manage the project. He or she would also do some of the research, writing, editing, and the like required to produce the desired results. He was also open to paying expert consultants for their advice and purchasing books and related articles, as needed.

PART 3: Project Time Management – Read below and address the following TASKS for Part 3.

As project manager, you are actively leading the Green Computing Research Project team in developing a schedule. You and Ben found three internal people and one new hire to fill the positions on the project team as follows:

· Matt was a senior technical specialist in the corporate IT department located in the building next to yours and Ben’s. He is an expert in collaboration technologies and volunteers in his community helping to organize ways for residents to dispose of computers, printers, and cell phones.

· Teresa was a senior systems analyst in the IT department in a city 500 miles away from your office. She just finished an analysis of virtualization of server resources for her office, which has responsibility for the company’s data center.

· James was a senior consultant in the strategic research department in a city 1,000 miles away from your office. He has a great reputation as being a font of knowledge and excellent presenter. Although he is over 60, he has a lot of energy.

· Le was a new hire and former colleague of Ben’s. She was working in Malaysia, but she planned to move to your location, starting work about four weeks after the project started. Le has a lot of theoretical knowledge in green computing, and her doctoral thesis was on that topic.

While waiting for everyone to start working on your project, you talked to several people working on other projects under the Environmental Technologies Program and did some research on green computing. You can use a fair amount of the work already done on telecommuting, and you have the name of a consulting firm to help with that part of your ration tools since much of your project work will be done virtually. They knew that Matt would be a tremendous asset for your team in that area. You have also contacted other IT staff to get detailed information on your company’s needs and plans in other areas of green computing. You also found out that there is a big program meeting in England next month that you and one or two of your team members should attend. It is a three-day meeting, plus travel. Recall that the Green Computing Research Project is expected to be completed in six months, and you and your four team members are assigned full-time to this project. Your project sponsor, Ben, has made it clear that delivering a good product is most important, but he also thinks you should have no problem meeting your schedule goal. He can authorize additional funds, if needed. You have decided to hire a part-time editor/consultant, Deb, whom you know from a past job to help your team produce the final reports and project proposals. Your team has agreed to add a one-week buffer at the end of the project to ensure that you finish on time or early.

Task 1. Review work breakdown structure (WBS) and Gantt chart you created in Task 3 and Task 4 of Part 2. Propose 3 to 5 activities to add….Write a one-page paper describing these new activities. Then start Task 2 on a new page.

Task 2. Identify at least 4 (four) milestones for this project. Write a one-page paper describing each milestone using the SMART criteria.

Task 3. Using the Gantt chart created for Task 4 Part 2 and new activities and milestones from Task 1 & 2 above …. Estimate the task durations and enter dependencies as appropriate….Insert the Gantt and network diagram in your paper. Then start Task 4 on a new page.

Task 4. Write a one-page paper summarizing how you would assign people to each activity ………Include a table or matrix listing how many hours should make sense …..Insert your table or matrix listing behind your one-page paper. Then start Task 5 on a new page.

Task 5. Assuming falling behind schedule …….but you have this 6 month schedule…..Describe contingency strategy to the best of your ability. ..then start your next PART on a new page.

PART 5: Project Quality Management – read below and address the following TASKS for Part 5.

The Green Computing Research Project team is working hard to ensure their work meets expectations. The team has a detailed project scope statement, schedule, and so on, but as the project manager, you want to make sure you’ll satisfy key stakeholders, especially Ben, the project sponsor, and Ito, the program manager. You have seen how tough Ito can be on project managers after listening to his critiques of other project managers at the monthly program review meeting. He was adamant on having solid research and financial analysis and liked to see people use technology to make quick what-if projections. You were impressed to see that several other project teams had developed computer models to help them perform sensitivity analysis and make important decisions. Most of the models were done using Excel, which Ito preferred, and you were glad that you were an expert with Excel, as was Matt. Ito was pretty easy on you at your first monthly review because things were just getting started, but he did give you a list of items to report on next month. You had Ben there to help answer some of the tough questions, but you wanted to be able to hold your own at future monthly meetings.

Task 1. Develop a list of at least 5 quality standards or requirements ….Provide a brief description of reach standard or requirement…..Then start Task 2 on a new page.

Task 2. Review the Seven Basic Tools of Quality …Pick one and make up a scenario…Document the scenario and tool in a one-to-two page paper. Then start Task 3 on a new page.

Task 3. Find a high quality research report. Summarize the report and why you think it is of high quality in a one-to-two-page paper. Then start your next PART on a new page. Remember to include the reference of your high quality research report that you found at the end of your paper.