Assignment

Objectives

Construct and apply Gantt charts, CPM, and PERT techniques to project management.
Rank the value and utility of different types of models in project management.

Scenario

As a newly assigned project manager for the Ohio Department of Human Services, you are excited about working with technology projects throughout the state. The Ohio Department of Human Services' (ODHS) Office of Network Support (ONS) is responsible for managing the network and software applications for over 15,000 state and county agency employees throughout Ohio's 88 counties. The office coordinates software upgrades and network modifications from an operations center located in the capital, Columbus, with assistance from local technology employees in each of the county seats.

The position is not without its challenges, however. The network infrastructure throughout the state ranges from high quality, high-bandwidth connections in major population centers to older, partially working connections in the poorer, more regional counties. Additionally, budget and resources are a constant issue, with a high turnover rate among existing employees and an emphasis on outsourcing the labor force to several vendors to accomplish the myriad of support and project tasks. Your initial assignment is to examine the viability and costs associated with upgrading the existing e-mail, with the objective of developing the implementation project for the organization. ODHS had adopted the e-mail software called Globalupgrades (a Worldviewupgrades product) as its e-mail standard in 1994 and executed minor upgrades since then. However, the latest version of Globalupgrades, Version 9.0, contains significant enhancements desired by the ODHS user base, and the existing Version 7.0's support will be phased out in the next year by Worldviewupgrades. The Worldviewupgrades sales representatives have been offering discounts for a Version 9.0 license, but the costs are approximately 20% more than previous licenses. Additionally, several other e-mail product vendors are lobbying state officials for business, some of them offering significant incentives. Generally, these products are viewed as less robust than Globalupgrades, but there are some segments of the user community that are supportive of these other options.

You are reviewing the existing documentation on the current state of the e-mail system, including license agreements and the Worldviewupgrades Globalupgrades 9.0 preliminary proposal. You are also examining the staffing structure and developing ideas on how to accomplish this task. In two weeks, you will need to brief the ONS Director on your planned approach to completing this effort.

Assignment

Develop a high-level project charter for the E-Mail Upgrade Project described in the scenario. Also, prepare and submit a statement of work, identification of a project management methodology and project team, and a baseline schedule. While the scenario does not contain enough specifics to completely fill out the charter, you can use the project team member list below to creatively provide the missing detail by making the necessary assumptions.

Use the following guidelines to complete this assignment:

• The statement of work should define the project objective.

• The project management methodology section should explain the project management model that will be used to manage the project.

• The project team section should explain the relationship among the team members and amplify their role based on your understanding of the methodology.

• The baseline schedule should identify the key milestones and deliverables of the project and may be presented in a basic Gantt chart or other graphical format, including a table.

Project Team List Candidates & Roles

• You: Project Manager for the Office of Network Support, ODHS. Key PM for the E-Mail Upgrade Project.

• Peter Parker: Director of Office of Network Support and project sponsor.

• Diana Prince: ONS Software Engineer with specific experience in implementing and administering various e-mail systems.

• Steve Rogers: Globalcom's sales representative and chief point of contact for the State.

• Linda Lee Danvers: a support specialist within the ODHS, selected as the liaison between the ODHS User Group community and the project team.

• ODHS User Group: a number of ODHS employees that are used to test system upgrades before implementation.