Running head: PROJECT MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 1

Project management assignment

Name

Course

Institution

Date
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A post project review of an Information Technology project at an MRO Company

This is a post project preview of an information technology project. It seeks to highlight the

critical success factors with the main aim being establishing an appropriate approach for the

assessment of the project. It is imperative to note that a post project review is a multi-

dimensional and ongoing process. It can be applied in the measurement of the degree of success

of a given project and how those involved can learn and get more insights from past experiences.

The critical success factors used in the measurement of the success of a project should be clearly

defined and checked on a constant basis as changes may occur overtime. It is imperative to note

that, as far as the success of a project is concerned good communication is fundamental. This is

especially with respect to all the stakeholders involved in the project. Today, constant review is

considered to be a matter of necessity due to the complex nature of projects. Furthermore, it is

important because of the need to engage proper project management practices, continuous

improvements and total quality management.

The case study project

In the year 2004 considerations were made for an information technology project which

would last for a year. The project was to be carried out at a business processing unit of an MRO

(Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) company in Germany. The main objective was to enable for

the improvement of the overall processing of materials. The budget for the project was

approximated to be €1Mio (£0.68 Mio). The mission was to convert the previous information

technology solutions turning them into SAP-standard system in order to simplify, condense and

improve the process of material ordering. The project was very significant as it introduced a new

system of information technology. Additionally, the new system would bring about
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organizational change and associated benefits. The project’s key stakeholders were the

department of engineering, Purchasing, Disposition, Warehousing and Production.

The structure of the study

The post project review will focus on the key determinants of both failure and success of

the case project that is the Critical Success Factors (CSF). To start with focus will be given on

the findings which will include the literature available on critical success factors with respect to

project management in the contemporary environment and the assessment of a project. There

will be a clear definition of a project as well as the theory of project life cycle. An appropriate

framework will be demonstrated to provide a more enhanced understanding of the critical

success factors. This will allow for a qualitative project assessment thereby narrowing down the

topic’s complex nature.

The process of analysis will include the criteria of assessing the success of the project

will be applied such as the class iron triangle. This process will also entail a review from a

personal point of view and feedbacks obtained from the project’s stakeholders. The synthesis

section will address some of the major facts and learning outcomes from the post project review

process. It will include a summary of the project as well as recommendations which are

considered to be very important for project works in future.

It is crucial to note the three major objectives or rather goals that will be focused upon in

the post project review report. The first is, “the optimization of the overall process of material

allocation”, the second is, “the conversion of all past IT solutions to SAP-standard solutions” and

thirdly, “continuous illustration of the materials allocation process in SAP- from the parts list to

the supply stock storage.” As will be clearly presented in the report, these goals were
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accomplished within the specified period of time. The project was also within the approximated

budget and its completion clearly showed that it was of an appropriate and right quality.

Finally together with the recommendations, there will be a clear summary of the overall

success of the project assessment process. This will be a personal opinion which will be

compared to some feedback responses from a number of members of staff working with

information technology system. The post project review report for the German MRO

Corporation will demonstrate how important the completion of a project is as far as the creation

of learning opportunities is concerned. A project involves numerous stages which are all

coordinated and managed to ensure that they are well aligned with the ultimate objectives and

goals. In every process of project execution there are challenges which bring about changes in

the initial project plan (Deeprose, 2002). This is the main reason why the critical success factors

for a project need to be revisited regularly. They provide a much clear and comprehensive status

of the project in line with the already set specific objectives and goals.
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A Case Study report on MRO Company

FINDINGS

From a traditional point of view a project is referred to as, “an undertaking to achieve a

defined objective, and goes on to state that ‘generally all projects evolve through a similar

“lifestyle” sequence during which there should be recognized start and finish points” (Jugdev

and Müller, 2005). This definition together with other similar explanations and meanings has its

basis on the principle or assumption that the objectives and goals of a project are clearly

presented and defined. The success of a project could then undergo measurement in relation to

the already agreed or set goals and objectives which are often founded on the class iron triangle

concept of project management which includes three important factors namely Time, Quality and

Cost.

Bryde (2003) notes that, “prior to the 1980s it was common to focus exclusively on

project performance, which was defined narrowly as meeting cost and time objectives and

adhering to a product specification”. The successfulness of a project in the understanding of

project management today is multi-dimensional. Back in the 80s following the introduction of

total quality management the success of a project was determined and ascertained if the project

met the set measures of internal performance (Tukel and Rom, 2001).

The EFQM model provides a more generalized approach of performance analysis

whereby it is associated with the major dimensions of the success of the project. This model

originates from the concepts of quality management (Wysocki, 2004). It is visualized below and

is utilized by companies in the process of assessing the quality of different processes of a project,

leadership and in reviewing a project.

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Table 1.0

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS BY PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

Project Mission Initial clarifications of the objectives and goals of the projects as well as
the general directions
Top management The top management’s willingness to give the required and necessary
support authority and resources for the success of the project
Project schedule A specification of all the action stages needed for the implementation of
and plans the project. They are fully detailed
Client consultation Active listening, Consultation, and communication with all parties
affected by a project
Personnel The recruitment of the necessary individual to be part of the project team
which includes their selection and training.
Technical tasks The availability of both expertise and technology required at every
technical stage of project execution
Client acceptance The “selling” of the completed project to the targeted or intended
customers or users
Monitoring and The provision of fully detailed control information at all stages of project
feedback implementation
Communication The provision of the required data and appropriate network crucial at all
stages of implementation of the project
Trouble shooting The capacity to deal with any uncertainties and crises that could lead to
deviations from the initial project plan

Table 1.1

FACTORS THAT ARE, “BEYOND THE CONTROL OF THE PROJECT TEAM”

Urgency This is the perception of the level of the project’s importance or the need
for the project to undergo implementation in nearest time possible
Characteristics of the The project leader’s level of competence either technically,
leader of the project interpersonally or in terms of administrative role. It includes the nature
and amount of authority needed for duties to be executed
Environmental This includes the possibility of organizational factors that are external to
Events the company affecting the operations and activities of the project team.
The implications could be either negative or positive depending on the
situation
Power and Politics The level of political activities in the company and the project’s nature
and perceptions as far as addressing the interests of the members of the
company is concerned.
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According to Jugdev and Müller (2005) project management in contemporary studies

embraces a variety of schools of thought. This is the main reason why there are numerous ways

of carrying out a review of a project as well as assessing the success of a project. They have all

been documented in many academic literatures.

There is need to identify ways that would aid in the establishment of critical success

factors and which ways are appropriate in the assessment of performance with regard to the case

study. The case study project recognizes the strategic approach to project management whereby a

project that is considered to be a success must add strategic value to the service, product and

company. Nevertheless, there is failure to recognize that a difference exists between performance

of a project manager and project performance which would allow for a holistic view of the

factors contributing to the success of the project (Prabhakar, 2005). The case study project

includes leadership performance as a critical success factor in the assessment of the success of

the project. It is imperative to note that the process of assessing a project’s value and in a

comprehensive manner is quite a tremendous task. Liang (2003) suggests that, “the first in

implementing project assessment is to determine the factors against the project”.

The critical success factors demonstrates the complexity of the case topic under study

hence associated with the EFQL model of quality management as shown below in Figure 1.
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The project life cycle is an important consideration during the assessment of a project.

This is due to the fact that previous studies demonstrate that the relative significance of a number

of critical success factors experience significant changes based on the stages of project life cycle

(Hyvari, 2006). Notably, certain critical success factors for a project such as the Project Schedule

and Plan relates to certain stages of the project. Below is the life cycle of the project under study.

Figure 2

According to Gardiner (2005) greater emphasis is placed on the many different project

types whereby he suggests that any list of failure or success factors needs to be utilized as a

“guiding principle” for project implementation. Nonetheless, the author further argues that any

forms of modifications to the principle should be done in accordance with the context of the

given project and its nature. This posses the need for the analysis of the case project with

adequate variables and which are specific.

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ANALYSIS

The assessment of the case study project as already identified is based on some major

project objectives and goals namely ensuring that the overall of allocation of materials is

optimized, ensuring that all previously depended upon information technology solutions are

converted into SAP-Standard and ensuring there is a continuous process of illustration of the

process of allocation of materials through the SAP system. These goals were realized in a timely

manner, under appropriate quality and within the approximated budget. The table below shows

the personal and qualitative assessment of the MRO company project. Ten critical success

factors in relation to the project were selected. The level of performance of each factor is also

included in the table and is done on a scale ranging from 1 to 10. A score of 10 implies that the

critical success factor was a hundred percent satisfied.

Table 2

Critical Project descriptive assessment Performance

success factor
Leadership Project leader demonstrated to have a high level of technical, interpersonal and administrative 7

competence. He proved to have good skills in communication, experienced and trust worthy.

He also demonstrated excellent situational management skills. Nevertheless, he lacked a sense

of authority may due to the nature of politics and power in the company thus failed to realize

some goals.
Personnel Project stakeholders were from different departments hence the cross functionality of the 8

project team. However, due to capacity not everyone showed commitment to the execution of

the project. There was creation of incentives for the members of the team. The team had good

and open communication. The project team had some members with very little interest in it

thus slowing down progress. This led to increased costs for the project. Programmers and

consultants provided the team with technical expertise and knowledge.

Organizational factors During the 1990’s the company was engaged in many projects with some being programs to 5

reduce costs. Generally, it was approved that it was time for change. Nevertheless, the

business unit under study, owing to its failed projects in the past and a lot of pride lacked to
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demonstrate some motivation and enough interest in the project. The implementation of

information technology had a high level of complexity because of obsolescent, retraction and

processes that were bureaucratic.

External environment The information technology system requirements changed after and during the execution of 2

the project. It was impossible to quickly adapt to the changes. Changing the method of

production was the biggest step of towards change. In relation to the external environment the

SAP system of ordering materials was not prepared or designed to cope with such change.
Client acceptance Engineering: - Acceptance LOW “there was dislike of an extended information technology 6

system and the fear of being controllable”.

Management: -Acceptance HIGH “however there was little interest in learning the system

themselves hence lack of knowledge among most members of management on the working of

the system”.

Disposition: - Acceptance HIGHEST “this position links purchasing and engineering”

Purchasing: - Acceptance HIGH “this is because the new SAP system simplified and

structured their work in comparison with past processes”

Power and politics The company is characterized by a lot of bureaucracy and politics. It is therefore not easy for 3

an individual newly in leadership position and with limited power to achieve goals and

implement new change. Moreover, some individuals in the project targeted their own selfish

aims and interests.

Urgency There was lot of pressure for the project to be completed in a timely manner coming from the 3

management. The project was viewed to be very vital. The review board delayed in starting

the project hence the pace of the process of the project was accelerated to the detriment of

management of change and testing operations.

SAP The clients failed to provide a clear definition of system requirements. There was need for 5

functionality/testing/ many meetings in order for information to be collected. Training books given to project

requirements stakeholders were of a high quality. Nevertheless, after completed project was switched on

that is when system testing began.

communication Project team members had good communication which was enhanced by team building 7

activities and events. There was poor communication outside the project team due to lack of

respect, trust and project commitment.

From a personal point of view and overall perspective the case study project on MRO

Company, business unit was a success. The main objectives of the project were realized within

the criteria of class Iron Triangle which entails Time, quality and cost factors. The Class Iron
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Triangle criterion is a presented in the table below including the project descriptive assessment

and level of performance.

Table 3

Factor [Iron Project descriptive assessment Performance

Triangle]
cost The completion of the project was within the approximated budget plan. However, it 8

included personnel costs that were unnecessary

Quality All requirements set up initially were satisfied by the system. However, urgency led 6

to failure to meet changing requirements and lack of testing. These resulted in failure

to exploit the system’s full potential. Additionally, there was inclusion of bugs
Time The review board doubted the project hence delayed it by 2 months. Nevertheless, the 8

projected was completed in a timely manner

Synthesis

Projects within a company are implemented in order to manage varied types of change.

As already demonstrated critical success factors and the Class Iron Triangle may be utilized in

measuring the success of a project. They are important techniques for project managers and quite

reliable as far as the management of projects in an effective manner is concerned. It is imperative

to take note of the fact that critical success factors can change with time. This poses the need for

expertise and high levels of skills in the management of a project. Nevertheless, the nature and

type of project needs to be taken into consideration. Project assessment is a process that entails a

critical evaluation of all the stages of a project otherwise known as project life cycle (Westland,

2006). Additionally, project assessment is all about project control and being able to

comprehensively understand the changes taking place during the implementation of a project and

how they can be effectively managed. The assessment process of a project is major source of
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knowledge and understanding about past experiences and how continuous project improvement

may be achieved through total quality management (Ptak, 2000).

There are a number of very crucial lessons learned from case study project assessment.

They include; being able to understand the meaning of critical success factors frameworks that

are utilized in measuring the success of a project, being able to identify the key stakeholders and

their roles, have the awareness that the success of a project is multidimensional and that critical

success factors need to both effectiveness and efficiency measurements in relation to all the

stages of project life cycle as well as with regard to all project stakeholders. Moreover, emphasis

is placed on the understanding that between the finish and start of a project changes in critical

success factors may take place in between. The success of a project significantly relies on good

communication and good relationships with all project stakeholders as well as the team work.

The area of focus of post project review on MRO Company’s Business unit gave a

clarification on the significance of shifting reliance on the identification of critical success

factors with the aim of assessing the overall success of a project. As a recommendation, there is

need for all players of a given project to note that the realization of cost, quality and time

objectives should not be perceived to necessarily imply that all project stakeholders were or are

satisfied with it. Additionally, a project that is said to be successful does not imply that all the

requirements that were in place were met. The need for critical factors in today’s project

management is posed by the increased complexity of projects and which undergo constant

changes due to changing environmental circumstances. On this note, an important

recommendation is that having a set of objectives, milestones and goals that are clearly defined

needs to be considered as being very important with regard to measuring project success

(Heerkens, 2002). The post project review on the case study demonstrates that project
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stakeholders should on a regular basis assess project life cycle stages in order to make sure that

they are able to establish a total quality improvement plan. This would significantly aid in the

efficient execution of the project.

References
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Bryde, D.J. (2003). Modelling project management performance, International Journal of

Quality & Reliability Management, 20(2): 229-254

Deeprose, D. (2002). Project management. Oxford, U.K: Capstone Pub.

Gardiner, P., D. (2005). Project Management, Palgrave Macmillan

Heerkens, G. (2002). Project management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Hyväri, I. (2006). Success of Project in Different Organizational Conditions, Project

Management Institute, 37(4):31-41

Liang, Wen-Yau (2003). The Analytic Hierarchy Process in Project Evaluation, Benchmarking:

An International Journal, 10(5): 445-456

Tukel, O.I. and Rom, W.O. (2001). An empirical Investigation of Project Evaluation Criteria,

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 21(3): 400-416, MCB

University Press

Jugdev, K. and Müller, R. (2005). A Retrospective Look at our Evolving Understanding of

Project Success, the Project Management Institute, 36(4): 19-31

Prabhakar, G.P. (2005). Switch Leadership in Projects; An Empirical Study Reflecting the

Importance of Transformational Leadership on Project Success Across Twenty-Eight

Nations, Project Management Journal, 36(4):53-60

Ptak, C. (2000). ERP-Tools, Techniques and Applications for Integrating the Supply Chain, New

York, NY, St Lucie Press

Westland, J. (2006). The project management life cycle: A complete step-by-step methodology

for initiating, planning, executing & closing a project successfully. London: Kogan Page.

Wysocki, R. K. (2004). Project management process improvement. Boston: Artech House.