Project Management

Assessment 1

Coursework Academic Level(Undergraduate)7PagesAPA

Introduction

The Robert L. Frank Construction Company confronted hurdles in the mid-2000s because of a decline in business, prompting cutbacks and a decrease in work build-up. To get future possibilities, the organisation sought the Lewis project, a coal liquefaction pilot plant development. While the task offered promising open doors, it likewise introduced different difficulties, including acquisition and communication issues, as well as errors in project management. Regardless of endeavours to address these difficulties, Frank experienced obstructions, for example, delays in material deliveries and stressed client relationships, affecting task progress and results.

The report will dig into different viewpoints connected with addressing difficulties looked by the Robert L. Frank Construction Company in the Lewis project. It will recognize a particular change expected to handle issues like correspondence breakdowns and procurement failures. A basic examination of the change's effects on scope, time, cost, and quality will be directed to illuminate stakeholders. Explicit change the board apparatuses, for example, Lean Six Sigma and stakeholders’ analysis will be proposed and supported for successful execution. The report will frame the cycles associated with presenting the change solicitation and address liabilities of partners from the contextual analysis. Various choices to fulfill the proposed change will be introduced, alongside an investigation of related gambles, working with informed independent direction.

Proposed Change Identification

Based on the examination of the contextual analysis of the Lewis project at Robert L. Frank Construction Company, the proposed change spins around conducting a smoothed out correspondence convention between the task group and the client, Lewis, and upgrading the obtainment cycle to improve effectiveness and decrease delays.

The contextual analysis features critical correspondence breakdowns between the Frank task group and Lewis delegates, prompting misconceptions and disappointment. For example, the absence of opportune and exact data trade brought about Lewis feeling detached from the task's advancement, requiring regular gatherings and extra announcing demands. Consequently, executing an organized correspondence plan that incorporates normal advancement refreshes, normalized detailing designs, and predefined meeting plans is fundamental for address these correspondence challenges.

By recognizing and tending to these vital areas of progress, the proposed change expects to upgrade project correspondence, smooth out obtainment processes, and at last further develop project results. 

Justification of Proposed Change

One of the essential difficulties distinguished for the situation study is correspondence breakdown between the undertaking group and the client, prompting misconceptions and disappointment. (Smith & Johnson, 2021). Using the Ishikawa chart, otherwise called the fishbone outline, stakeholders can efficiently dissect different variables adding to this correspondence breakdown. Factors like insufficient correspondence conventions, absence of characterized jobs and obligations, and social contrasts between project groups can be distinguished as main drivers. (Anderson, 2021). Moreover, Pareto analysis can be utilized to focus on the recognized main drivers considering their effect on project results (Williams, 2021).

By investigating information on correspondence related issues, for example, the recurrence of errors, the seriousness of deferrals brought about by correspondence breakdowns, and the expenses related with extra gatherings and reports, partners can figure out which underlying drivers have the main effect on project execution (Arunkumar, 2020). 

Impact Analysis

The Lewis project at Robert L. Frank Construction Company is expected to have following impact on the entities of project. 

  • Scope: The improvement of communication protocols, as well as giving out clear roles and responsibilities, will provide a better understanding about the project requirements and deliverables, so issues will be less likely to happen. In that way, the project will not be deviated from its original objective (Smith & Johnson, 2021).
  • Time: Through building up communications methods consistently with less frequent meetings and reporting, projects teams might have more time for extra productive work, with the eventual result in project acceleration. 
  • Cost: Implementation of the suggested initiative allows for reduction of delays in project delivery, avoidance of rework, and improving the effective use of resources in the project cycle. Consequently, cost savings are achieved. Apart from this, better communication and efficient procurement processes eliminates the risk of not following the budget that lowers the financial risks and thus the cost-effectiveness takes the centre stage as Brown & Davis (2021) have opined.
  • Quality: Grasping communication channels will be beneficial in the implementation of better decision making and troubleshooting, therefore, high quality results with less flaws might be achieved. 

Change Management Tools:

To effectively manage the proposed change, several tools and techniques can be employed: To effectively manage the proposed change, several tools and techniques can be employed:

Stakeholder Engagement: 

The provision of constant updates, having feedback mechanisms in place, and including the stakeholders in the decision processes can be the ways of making them aware of the rationality and reasons behind the changes, and addressing any concerns or possible resistance (Anderson, 2021).

Training and Development: 

Training the project team members so that they can possess the needed skills and knowledge through a 360-degree and permanently upgrading training and development program is the way to ensure that the project team is ready for the new communication protocols and procurement processes. Training program can have such lines as workshops, seminars, online courses, and firsthand exercises designed to empower trainees by increasing their competence and confidence (Smith and Johnson, 2021).

Change Communication Plan: 

Creating a communication plan that specifies goals, timelines, accountabilities, and channels to be used during the communication process is very fundamental in the knowledge that it gives a structured and consistent platform that can be used (Kerzner, 2017). 

Performance Metrics: 

Setting KPIs and indicators that will monitor the change effectiveness and allow to measure the impact and find improvement areas is key for evaluation performance of the proposed change (Kerzner, 2022). Through enabling a selection of change management instruments and procedures, the project teams would be able to overcome the transition process, control resistance and create a higher number of benefits from the proposed alterations, consequently resulting in the complete execution of the Lewis project (Zheng et al., 2019).

Change Request Process

Evaluation, requesting approval for, and finally putting into place any amendments to the plan of the Lewis project at Robert L. Frank Construction Company involve multistage process. Considering the scale of the proposed change and the responsibilities of stakeholders from the case study. The plan is adopted from the study of Kamali, (2020), 7-step process for managing changes to the project scope, schedule, budget or quality baselines. The change request process is outlined below: 

  1. Initiation: At the start, the change request process originates with the discovery of the need for change. The project manager, functional managers, or client representatives will trigger the action of the change (Heldman, 2018).
  2. Documentation: Then one can write down the details of the suggested change such as it aims, the size of the impact, the expected impacts, and why it is justified (Pádár et al., 2017).
  3. Impact Assessment: After receiving the deviation description, it undergoes a detailed performance assessment to calculate what it can cause in the project scope, cost, quality, and risk (Amoah & Pretorius, 2020).
  4. Approval Process: Ethical screening is subsequently conducted after effect assessment. The change request is then presented to the change control authority for evaluation and approval (Lock, 2017).
  5. Review and Decision: Upon receipt of the change request, the change control authority conducts a comprehensive review to evaluate its alignment with project objectives, feasibility, and alignment with organizational priorities (Harrison & Lock, 2017).
  6. Communication and Notification: The definition of the change request is where the entire process ends, requiring stakeholders to be notified of the change decision and any needed adjustments to the project schedule, or budget being addressed (Meredith et al., 2017).
  7. Implementation and Monitoring: With the approved alterations in place, all activities that has been planned is put in place and it is continually monitored using the approved method to determine whether it has been a success or there are some issues (Dumas et al., 2018).

Options and Risks

In accomplishing the aim of tailoring the Lewis project towards Robert L. Frank Construction Company, the project must consider many options that will obligate the business to the emerging change requirements. Both possibilities present specific risks and merits, which should be comprehensively weighed before fixing a direction.

Option 1: Process Reengineering

Process reengineering requires us to work on completely new communication and procurement processes, which will help to reduce the overall cost, clear the bottlenecks and thus, evaluate the performance of each stage of the project organization (Patrucco et al., 2020). This alternative specifies examining current working flows, finding areas of improvement opportunity, and proceeding by implementing re-built processes preferable one (Tripathi & Gupta, 2020). 

Benefits

Procurement is about obviously increasing the speed of communications to eliminate lags in information transmission and to reduce the number of unnecessary tasks which produce delays and increases costs (Oteki, 2019).

Risks

The obstacle of process reengineering- its possibility of being confronted by resistance attitude of employees might hinder them to get used to their existing workflows. The consequences of such disruption can lead to delay. Shifts to the project processes may acquire a secondary implication since it can have an impact on other areas of project management or stakeholder relationships.

Option 2: Establish a communication network as one of the most crucial factors towards the water crisis.

For this option, one could envision using a new communication method or technological platform, having in mind the detailed needs of the Lewis project. The system could indeed have functionalities such as some common communication centres, to open external connections, and automated reporting functionalities to facilitate the communication of projects (Oberascher et al., 2022).

Benefits

Improving project communication across the different stakeholders has enabled them to better analyse the progress of the project, problems being faced, and outlines to solve issues (Di Maddaloni & Davis, 2017). 

Risks

In this case, introducing a communication system necessitates teacher of the modern technologies and training those who are more tech-averse to use them. Manned Tasks with the new system and that is already used project management tools and workflows may have compatibility problems or data migration problems, which will lead to the deferral of the way to put into effect (Davis, 2017).

Change Request Form (CRF) Completion:

Accomplishing the CRF is a significant aspect of formalizing the envisaged change and capturing vital details that will be examined and approved (Hills et al., 2021). The CRF should include the following information: The CRF should include the following information:

Change Description: The proposed change is introduced in specific, concise fashion elaborating on its mission, scale, and projected consequences (Cameron & Green, 2019).

Justification: The rationale for the changes, which is based on previous impact analysis findings and stakeholders’ consultations (Cameron & Green, 2019).

Impacted Areas: Identifying project areas influenced by changed process, such as scope, time of completion, funding amount, quality, and risks (Demirkesen & Ozorhon, 2017).

Implementation Plan: The implementation plan will cover the details of how to make the changes occur, i.e., timelines, parties in charge, and resources needed (Demirkesen & Ozorhon, 2017).

Risk Assessment: A risk assessment which includes likely risks related to that event and the mechanisms to inhibit those risks (Zio, 2018).

Approval Signatures: The best practice is evidence of key stakeholder signatures, including project sponsors, change control boards, or steering committees, who have reaffirmed their commitment to the desired change (Hopkin, 2018).

Through filling out CRF in conformance with project specifications and provisions, participants will have an opportunity to get the originality of the proposed modification officially documented, thoroughly reviewed, and approved, which make it is a real possibility of undertaking.

Conclusion

In summary the obstacles encountered by the Robert L. Frank Construction Company during the Lewis project highlight the significance of proactive change management strategies. By focusing on enhancing communication and streamlining procurement processes through the proposed changes the company aims to tackle issues that are impeding project advancement. The utilization of quality management tools, like Ishikawa diagram and Pareto analysis provides stakeholders with insights into the causes of project difficulties thereby justifying the necessity for change. The expected effects of the proposed modifications on scope, time, cost, and quality emphasize the advantages of improved communication and optimized processes. It is crucial to employ change management tools such as stakeholder engagement and performance metrics to effectively implement the suggested changes and maximize their benefits. Additionally, a structured change request process ensures assessment and approval of proposed changes fostering alignment and collaboration among stakeholders. By considering options along, with associated risks stakeholders can make informed decisions to support project success. Ultimately by embracing change and implementing change management practices the Robert L. Frank Construction Company can overcome project challenges enhance cooperation and achieve outcomes.

References

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