Project Management process

The Integrated planning Reporting framework (IP&R) acts as a fundamental guide upon which organizations and companies base their planning processes. According to xxxxx, the IP & R framework seeks to improve and link; service delivery, financial capacity, and community aspirations. The IP & R framework came into effect in 2009 and has achieved massive success having changed the way councils in New South Wales (NSW), document and plan for the future. The framework bases its considerations starting with the community aspirations for a period of at least 10 years. The framework includes visions and strategic plans detailing courses of actions aimed at attaining these plans. The Ip & R framework also comes with a reporting structure which plays a crucial role in detailing progress and performance to the various stakeholders including the community and the council. In addition, the framework has a well-structured timeline which seeks to ensure that the actions and goals are still relevant.

In an attempt to improve the planning and performance, BVSC plans to implement the IP & R framework in order to improve the financial performance, ethics, and decision making. Based on the request for service (RFS), BSVC requires assistance and intensive research on ‘measuring’ in many areas and primarily in the implementation of IP & R framework. BSVC is looking for a consolidated review and recommendation on past works done in other parts of NSW rollout across Victoria, and further checking the progress and implementing a new set of success driven KPIs not only with IP& R framework but also the Council’s Annual Operation Plan.

In this analysis, we are going to focus on a set of existing resources matching how Bega Valley Shire Council (BVSC), would use the resources to develop consistent set of KPIs and Targets.

Background

NSW is made up of numerous councils that come with different factors and attributes. One of the most widely used council is the IP & R framework. The framework is aimed at helping organizations plan and make better informed decisions that are centered on the key Performance Indicators (KPIs). In addition, the framework also assists companies and organizations conform to ethical standards as per their set jurisdiction laws and regulations. Past research have sought to establish a commonly agreed upon routine approach for implementation of IP & R framework, there is still little success in ensuring that organizations conform to these standards across NSW. The IP & R framework was proposed from the Local Government Act of 1993, the main objective of this enactment was to enable councils plan more effectively and also enable them meet their set targets through maximizing resources utilization. To date, there has been no successful deliberations on the use of IP & R framework and this has led to massive confusion as different councils continue to operate individual and act on the framework with no specified alignment. Victoria has implemented the framework across the state. In line with the IP 7 R framework goals, BSVC aims at understanding this framework and assessing its applicability with their Joint Organization (JO) structure.

Project Management

This analysis will entail shifting our focus on the project management process to ensure the successful delivery of the IP & R framework for BSVC. According to xxxx, project management is an integrated process of leading the work of a team while applying skills, knowledge, methods and experiences with an objective of attaining a specified objective as per a set of predetermined parameters. The main focus of managing process is the managing of constrained resources to achieve a greater outcome. Project management has a final deliverable that are constrained in a timescale and a budget. Having been tasked with a responsibility of implementing the IP & R framework for BSVC, it is crucial to properly manage the process so as to maximize the final output and ensure that the project achieves its desired outcome. The project management process for BSVC involves a set of steps

Step 1: Project initiating

This is the initial stage of the project planning process. This stage involves defining and determining the projects main goals. The projects goals are well listed based on their priority and safeguarded since they form the basis of the research. These goals also act as a metric upon which a project could be evaluated upon. After the process of making goals, the organizations stakeholders are determined, the stakeholders are evaluated and recorded based on their influence and effect on the overall organization and project. This process also seeks to ensure that the project goals are in line with the organizations mission and objective and that they add onto the key performance indicators.

For the BSVC project, this stage involved going through the Request for Service (RFS) guideline and determining the organization’s objective. Having determined the objective of the company, the team should also go ahead and determine the roles of various stakeholders and the effect they could have on the overall project success and performance. These stakeholders could include, BSVC organization, local authority or the government.

Step 2: Project planning

This is the second stage of the project management process. This stage involves initial planning and gathering of all the required prerequisites and resources. This is a crucial stage since it requires the manager determine the available resources and also the constrained resources. The planning process requires the project management team to formulate schedules crucial for the organization to attain their objectives. In addition, the process requires the project manager to assign duties to the different team members based on their expertise and level of skills. The planning process is mainly entered upon determination of the scope of the project. At this time, budgets and project plans are formulated that will be crucial in maximizing the available resources and see the completion of the project in due time available.

The project planning for BSVC implementation of the IP & R framework is based on the request for service and the project deliverables. The project planning requires the construction of budgets, action plan and a timeline which will ensure that the project is completed in due time taking into consideration the available resources. This project will consider the deliverables and ensure that all the plans are anchored on the end goals. The following are some of the key processes in the project planning process;

Meet with BSVC to ascertain clarity of RFS
Obtain required documentation from BSVC, review research areas as stated in RFS, read/review/understand/suggest approach
Break into pairs to address sections of RFS, working towards solid outputs
Make a timetable and budget

Step 3: Project Execution

This process involves the practical process of executing the project this stage requires a lot of care and follows the already set prerequisites in the project planning stage. The process is based on 4 key pillars

Allocating project resources,
Managing the project resources,
Building the product or process, and
Resolving problems that may occur in course of the implementation process.

In the BVSC, IPRF implementation of the project, there is dire need to bring together resources and ensure that the project plan is adhered to in order to reduce wastage. The major aim of the project will be to formulate “A report to summarize findings from research and a recommended approach for introducing the measures identified”. This stage will also seek to ensure that the project goals are et effectively based on the project plan. This process also seeks to establish the impact of IPRF on BSVC. The following activities played a crucial role in the exection of the BSVC project;

Keeping clear lines of communication open, weekly Team alignment meetings and fortnightly Client meetings
Keeping each other accountable for actions, timing and quality outcomes
Produce a set of success driven KPI’s with the final report for BVSC

Step 4: Monitoring and control

According to the lecture notes, this process involves overseeing the activities to meet project objectives. According to xxxx, project monitoring is the process which is followed to keep track of the project execution so that potential problems can be detected timely and corrective action taken to control these problems from affecting the overall performance of the project.

In the BVSC case, project monitoring and control is a fundamental aspect as it helps in ensuring that the project attains its desired goals Problems that may arise are detected early and corrective action taken to mitigate their effects on the project. The BVSC project is anchored on the following criteria;

Tracking efforts and costs,
Monitoring the progress of the projects,
Ensuring adherence to the plan, and
Preventing any chances of disruptions on the ultimate project.

Step 5: Project Closing

This is the final part of the project management process; it involves finalizing and formally closing the project. This stage involves reviewing the projects success and getting approvals for the project. The process ends with formally handing over the project to the contractors. In the case of BSVC, the project closing stage is attained after the successful implementation of IP & R framework and the successful testing of its workability.

Project success

The project is well constituted having 1 team leader, 4 managers and 2 learners; the teams composition is one of the key advantages that will ensure that the project is completed in a timely manner and effectively. The project is bound to bring about massive success as it streamlines various sectors in BSVC company. The project success will be evaluated on the predetermined metrics in the project planning process. The following are areas that the project is aimed to achieve massive success;

Ethics and decision making

According to xxxx, ethics are a set of behavioral conduct that govern behavior of an individual or institution. The decision-making process in an organization requires the collaboration of different factors and resources to come up with a strategi decision that will enable an organization overcome various problems and steer it to future prosperity.

BVSC considering and implementing recommendations from this project, requires the making of ethical, accountable decisions whilst enacting the appropriate steps required to ensure it remains deliverable, as set out in Framework for Ethical Decision Making (Velasquez et al., 2015). The initial recommendations will be for BVSC implementation, initially being a micro ethical issue, with the potential to expand to JO. Should the outcome be adopted more broadly across NSW, this may evolve to a macro issue (Johnston, n.d.). With past attempts for alignment being unsuccessful, there is emphasis on this review delivering the right outcome, to ensure recommendations are received positively, without negative views from other Councils.

The project’s completion will be of great value to the ethics and decision making of BSVC in the future. Through the project, ill play a crucial role in ensuring the council adheres to the ethics principles especially when making crucial decisions meant to steer the organization to future success.

People and Culture

People are a crucial constituent for any organization. It is crucial for the management to ensure its goals are structured to assist people in different ways and also attain success. The cultural factors and other individual attributes greatly affect the success of the project. The project has to ensure it captures the individual’s attributes based on individual factors such as culture, tastes and preferences.

Change requires the enablement of sensemaking, to allow organisation change, new processes, learning, creativity and new innovations to be accomplished (Maitlis & Christianson, 2014). With the need to align processes, there needs to be a shift in organisational culture and long-term cultural success within NSW Councils. Culture is fundamental requirement for success, along with diversity, openness, teamwork transparency, acceptance for change and positively fostering workable outcomes (McCandless, 2020).

Finance for Managers

The implementation of KPI’s will have a financial impact, either positive or negative for BVSC. When reviewing budgets, local spending, risk and return, the alignment of recommendations needs to be considered, along with the cost to construct, organise, and implement. BSVC stated they are looking for a more ethical approach, therefore an ethical culture considers the triple bottom-line of Planet, Profile and People, with all decisions being made by more than one person (“A Simple Explanation of the Triple Bottom Line”, n.d.).

Marketing and Communications

BSVC is answerable to the people in many ways, including spending and decision making. They need to be proactive in their research and development along with their marketing and communications. Armstrong & Kotler (2005) recommend considering such things as:

Geographic/ Demographic/Economic/Sociocultural Factors
Legal/Political Factors
Evaluate market objectives and delivery networks
Identify potential joint ventures eg. JO
Multicultural/Diversity Factors

Market research can assist with forecasting future trends, anticipating current and future needs, reducing risk of implementation failure and allow the ability to obtain a detailed understanding of consumers opinions on a range of targeted issues. (“The Purpose of Marketing Research”, 2004).

Business Strategy

Generic strategies characterise strategic positions in their simplest and broadest form. Whilst this can be useful, Porter maintains to achieve the competitive advantage a business must chose its type and scope. This presents inherent risks, with each generic strategy, although being “all things, to all people” will result in mediocrity or more-so being “stuck in the middle” (Tanwar, 2013).

To deliver success driven effective KPI’s, BVSC would benefit from a SWOT analysis, which is a technique that defines their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (Shewan, 2020).

Digital Operations and Project Management

Whilst this is a temporary project, it is defined by a strict set of deliverable timelines along with a beginning and an end. We are defining the scope and obtaining the resources which is unique to BVSC, to enable us to accomplish our project goal (Larangeira, n.d.).

This project team is made up of people from multiple geographies, who do not work for the same company, bringing different skills and abilities, that will allow the collective collaboration to meet the project requirement. With digital methodologies within the digital age, we will utilise:

Working with human capital.
Establishing a new rhythm
Leverage technology to collaborate – virtual teams.
Track capacity and progress
Be visible, relevant and current.
Strategically over-communicate
Be Lean, empower and promote self-leadership
Ensure well-being

(Capital, 2020)

Project Challenges

Poor communication from the stakeholders

Stakeholders’ cooperation is a crucial factor for the success of any project. The projects performance and plan are prone to being affected by client’s failure to cooperate. BSVC being the client is expected to show full cooperation and provide all the necessary documents in a timely manner to enable the team work on these documents and come up with a full and detailed response based on factual and accurate reports. Timely and transparent communication process is crucial for ensuring that the projects goals are met. In the case of BSVC, one of the major challenges would emanate from failure to provide all documents required for the project. These requirements include;

The existing Victorian Local Government framework,
Data from the Centre for Local Government at University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Research the peer-to-peer framework that was commenced and not completed,
The Local Government Professionals Excellence Framework administered by PWC, and
Reach of the OLG and progress methodology for measuring corporate plan actions.

Scope creep

According to xxxx, scope creep refers to a situation where there is a rapid change in project scope in periods after the project has been started. According to xxxx, scope creep could also occur when the scope of the project isn’t well defined thereby making it prone to miscommunication and failure to conform to the project requirements. If the team fails to understand the project effectively, this could lead to scope creep and thus affecting the outcome and final recommendations presented to BVSC

Limited timeframe

Limited timeframe is usually part of the project constraints. However, limited time could also be a disadvantage when the time available is seriously low and thus leads to inability of the team to cover all aspects of the project comprehensively. In the BVsc project, the timeframe is quite constrained and this could be a major setback especially if the required prerequisites aren’t presented in a timely manner. The teams ability to provide quality work with fewer rework is greatel dependent on time and could potentially affect the projects success in the case there is failure to provide adequate time. The project also details remote workers some of which are situated in regions with different time zones. This process could affect the communication and team collaboration especially where time is limited and thereby affect the projects success.

Project team skills competencies

Skills and knowledge are a great asset for a project to be completed effectively. A team should bring together different individuals who possess different knowledges ad skills to ensure it will be effectively completed and implemented. The lack of adequate skills from the team could be a serious challenge that could weigh heavily on the service delivery process and the future implementation of the project. Team commitment is another crucial factor that could affect the project and compromise the successful completion. The team is comprised of different members some from different regions, this makes it very difficult for team coordination and deliberation. In addition, the team’s composition also makes it difficult for supervision and coordination; this could weigh heavily on the project’s success. According to lecture notes, for the successful completion of the project, there should be good communication and coordination from all team members.

Strategies and Suggestions