Question: Case Study: Project Selection and Initiation Case Study

The goal of Case Study One is to apply project management skills acquired in the first three modules to a real-world project or situation. At a minimum, you should evaluate the following:

Project Selection Criteria and Prioritization
Weighted and unweighted models
Ranking and prioritization of project proposals
Project Initiation and Planning
Evaluate initiation and planning processes
Project/organizational structure
Project Scope and Schedule Development
Creation of the work breakdown structure

Make sure you apply concepts or theories from course material and scholarly resources to support your case study evaluation.

The analysis of the case should include an evaluation of the selection criteria, a ranking of proposals, a project initiation approval, and the steps required to create a work breakdown structure and project schedule development. The analysis should be a minimum of 750 words and should include at least two references.

Bob Dallion is the IT director of The City Way, a manufacturer/retailer of what it calls "urban apparel" aimed at college-aged buyers. The company has struggled with inventory at its retail locations. At any one time, the accuracy in a store may be off by 40% because of misplaced, stolen, or misidentified inventory. This leads to stock-outs and missed sales.

Manual inventory tracking requires up to 40 hours per week in personnel time. Employees scan the bar code of every item on store shelves and racks, one by one. They do so before and after hours, compounding overtime. Dallion has lobbied hard to implement a hands-free inventory management system-one that is less labor-intensive than using handheld bar code scanners. He believes that a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system (the kind successfully used in bookstores to manage inventory and prevent theft) will fit the bill. It uses fixed and handheld scanners to identify items by radio tags, then creates an accurate inventory. It can also locate items in the store-for example, the store has a pair of yellow leggings in size 8, but it is mixed in with shirts and jackets.

First, Dallion had to overcome some objections by CIO John Dehner. Dehner allowed Dallion to present the idea to COO Jennifer Hoyland, who was enthusiastic about the potential results. With Hoyland''s sponsorship, The City Way will pilot an RFID system at one of its Manhattan locations. If all goes well, this will help The City Way achieve 99% inventory accuracy without taking manual inventory.

Dehner has assigned the project completely to Dallion. Before joining the company, Dallion was an experienced project manager so he decides to use his experience to run this complex project.

Capstone Case Study I: Creating the Project Charter

Dallion was not given a project charter so he begins the project by creating a charter for approval by management.

Key Features of the City Way Project Charter

Below are key project charter features. Elements specific to The City Way''s project will show up below. Drag and drop the appropriate section of the charter on each element. Some of these elements will be obvious (like budget information). Others may seem to overlap (e.g., risks and limitations, purpose and objectives).

Click on the "Charter Sections" header to see what type of information should be included in each charter section.

Charter Sections

Charter Section Included Information

Project business case/business need Describes the logic for taking on a project; may be described in terms of an objective to be met (e.g., meet a market demand, customer requests, legal requirements, etc.)

Project purpose Summarizes the scope of the project; generally described as a problem that needs to be solved, and how the project will solve it

Project objectives Describe how the project aligns with the organization''s strategic objectives; frequently described in terms of sales quotas, quality goals, customer satisfaction, etc.

Project deliverables The interim and final products or results that the project will produce

Project personnel The people who will be involved in project activities

Risks Potential risks to the project, or risks caused by the project; for example, the project may disrupt normal operations, or customer demands may change the scope of the project

Schedule summary A high-level description of the schedule, with interim milestone dates

Budget summary A high-level summary of the project budget, with the variance allowed on the project

Measurable success criteria The criteria that will be used to define the project as a success

Other project limitations Anything that may cause risk to the project; generally described in terms of resources (e.g., lack of qualified personnel, shortage of raw materials, unmovable dates

Approval The signature of the sponsor or other person who can authorize the project to begin

Replace drag and drop game with a table of the terms and definitions.Skip this vocabulary game

Project business case/business needProject purposeProject objectiveProject deliverablesProject personnelRisksSchedule summaryBudget summaryMeasurable success criteriaOther project limitationsApproval

Drag the correct term from above to the item below.

Two floor employees and one cashier (per shift) trained

Resource from mindedgeonline.com