Part: Controlling

Scenario

The memo that the project sponsors and Anna sent had mixed reviews, but the first bi- monthly meeting was very effective in airing everyone’s concerns and clearing up misconceptions. The project team realized that in addition to high-level bi-monthly meetings, they would need to have more detailed meetings and reports to help keep the project on track. Each division assigned a user represented to assist the project team. It was critical that the team develop a good list of requirements for this new system, emphasizing the most important ones in the first year. They know that new features may be added the following year.

Tasks

Write a one- to two-page paper describing a requirements management process for this project. Describe how the team could effectively work with the user representatives to understand and deliver the functionality they needed and wanted in this new system. Be sure to describe how you could collect, prioritize, and deliver requirements.

Create a template to help gather, manage, and document changes to user requirements.

A few user representatives insist that the system must include functionality for professional development, even though your earlier analysis suggested that this capability should not be added at this time. Corporate policy suggests that each employee have at least forty hours of job-related courses/seminars to make sure they stay abreast in the dynamic biotechnology field. Several managers believe the company can be more efficient by negotiating with educational suppliers in providing some of these courses on-site. The project team knows that adding this capability will make the project take longer to complete and cost more money. Write a short memo explaining why the professional development functionality should be done as a follow-on project.

Write a one- to two-page paper describing how to minimize the need for the HR system supplier to write customized code for Biotech, Inc., because you know that it will increase project costs. Be creative in your response, and consider different approaches to use.