Question 1
WRPS, with 7 other police organizations, joined forces and allocated resources in order to implement the CIMS project, an investment that is likely to reorganize and make more efficient functions among these police units. The CIMS project implemented since seven years was poorly progressing with a variety of main issues and challenges arising. It is the moment to reconsider the project and establish the best following moves toward booming project implementation. There are many challenges that explain the drowning of the CMIS project in its current situation.
- Poor organizational viability. In fact, the CIMS project is a huge project yet complicated and time-consuming one which requires a solid understanding of the organizational change needed while moving forward with the project. With his IS background, Gravill is an ideal project leader. Do the other regions involved in the project fulfill the same condition? Are all the agencies homogenous? Aren’t they diversified?
- Lack of financial feasibility. The CIMS is promising. With all the benefits it offers, the project look perfect. Saying that the project was initially feasible, is it still feasible several years after its launch? It is clear that the originally anticipated benefits could not be anymore higher than the costs needed to reassess the project. It is now more costly…
- Wrong scheduling. It is quiet obvious that the CIMS project is progressing in the wake of the desired one. The deadline seems here an important issue disabling the project to progress efficiently. Some corrective actions are to be taken rapidly to ensure the progress of the project. However, some solutions such as starting over will definitely weaken the project and enlarge the time needed. Sometimes a solution could be an absolute issue!
- Lack of technological acceptance? The issue that lay behind this is the fact that when the RFP was developed the first time, it resulted “zero vendor responses”. Even the second time, only one vendor replied. Thus, some people can logically sum up that the CIMS is not technologically feasible yet not realistic. In spite of having found a vendor, the relation with it is becoming less productive and less efficient. It is again an important challenge that threatens the CIMS project.
- Project management would provide the project leader of the CIMS project with a basic understanding of all the essential requirements to implement a successful project starting with understanding the key issues in order to set the right curative objectives, defining costs and allocating efficiently costs/resources, promoting quality, considering the importance of developing “what-if scenarios” that will rescue the project from drowning.
Question 2:
Alexander Garrett quoted once in his article,
“Do say: At this early stage we are reviewing the resources, timescales and budgets to ensure the project’s successful completion. And don’t say: If we just carry on, perhaps it will sort itself out.”
Thus, a radical change is needed. Reassessing the project at different stages of its progress is always considered a suitable step. However in this case, starting from zero would not be well admired. If I was the project manager of this project I would have definitely adopted from the early beginning a different strategy. I would start by managing a market research project in order to keep an eye on every qualitative/quantitative characteristic of the project. Conducting such a research will provide me with a better understanding of the product awareness, positioning and others. It won’t definitely end up with zero/one vendors reply. Once overseeing the workflow and managed all the information obtained, I would start implementing my project by seeking an ideal location capable of integrating the system primary on a demo mode. Waterloo seems to be the ideal choice with its comparative advantage in implementing successful projects “PRIDE”. I assure the project will progress easily building impelling forces and support. Than, after defining and “micro building” my project, I will present the various units at different moments taking into consideration the importance of geographic launch.
Question 3:
Will you keep in mind the PM lecture materials at the suitable moment in the future to relate it to your project? If after quiet a long time people are able to answer “Yes” then it will be perfect yet unexpected. However, most of the students, and am probably one of them, are likely to answer “No” but having kept – at least – deep in their mind some basic lessons:
As Peter Drucker, generally described as “management guru”, stated once “plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work”, the lesson to be kept in mind is the importance laid behind planning and defining the project goals and objectives, specifying tasks and resources considered necessary, and combining funds and timelines. When the work is well understood by both PM and the team, the work plan is placed on a superior level. However, in the opposite situation, it is recommended to break down the project into tasks by “micro-building” or “micromanaging” it.
The lesson here is to understand that while the project is progressing, a problem could arise; a series of issues would be likely to occur meaning that something is going wrong. Being able to manage risks and resolve these issues will definitely transform the project into a “win-win” situation with all the team profiting from the project final success. Just keep in mind that “If everything is going exactly to plan, something somewhere is going massively wrong.” (PMB) To win is definitely to risk…
The lesson here is to understand the importance of assessing the project success in numerous stages after being put into action, in order to evaluate how efficiently it is meeting expectations and satisfying desires. Don’t leave your project progressing on its own… turn and look at it every time it grows even modestly, realize and take the appropriate corrective measures when things seem left unmanaged or wrongly run. “There’s never enough time to do it right first time but there’s always enough time to go back and do it again.” (PMB)