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Final Project: From Methodology to Execution

Digital Project Management

Step 1) Study the Scenario

Overview
You are a project manager for Yosemite, an eCommerce company that integrates brick-and-mortar stores
onto its platform for a fee. It’s the third Tuesday in September; you have been assigned to work with The
Stefano Shop, a family-run business that had been a local success but was struggling to stay open. The
primary business goal is to digitize the store’s operations and sales and complete this project a week before
Christmas in the U.S.

Integrating The Stefano Shop onto Yosemite means building the following features: a storefront on the
platform, a social media integration, and a recommendation engine. The Stefano family, which consists of
Papa Stefano, Mama Stefano, and Junior Stefano, will also require the training and knowledge to operate
their digital store once it has been developed.

At Yosemite, you have access to the Engineering, Vendor Management, and Marketing teams. The
Engineering team will need up-to-date information on the store’s inventory from the customer. The Vendor
Managers can onboard and train whoever will manage the storefront on Yosemite’s platform. The Marketing
team can set up the social media channels but will have to hand off the account’s ongoing management to
someone at the Stefano’s.

Project Budget
The Yosemite storefront, training, and documentation can be delivered for $15,000 - a tight budget for the
Stefano's. So Papa Stefano asked that you include a cost-benefit analysis in the project scope to reassure
him this is a good investment.

For the cost-benefit analysis, your research shows:

● The Stefano Shop’s current annual revenue is $120,000
● The eCommerce industry discount rate is 7%
● Yosemite promises a 30% increase in revenue ($36,000)
● And the cost of this project will be $15,000 upfront

Getting the Job Done

The Engineering team has to deliver three main features: the storefront, social media integration, and a
recommendation engine. Each of those features can be completed in a two-week sprint. The tasks involved
in each sprint are design, build, test, and release. You, as the project manager, can recommend building out

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all features before the store goes live on Yosemite. Or you can recommend releasing a minimum viable
product—a live storefront—then later adding the other features: the social media integration and a
recommendation engine.

The Vendor Managers, as part of the storefront deliverable, have the task of inputting all inventory data.
That task would take a week and is dependent on the Engineering team completing the first deliverable.
Then the Vendor Managers will spend a week onboarding and training the Stefano’s on how to use the
Yosemite platform. This task should occur before the store goes live. During or after the recommendation
engine deliverable is released, the Vendor Managers will have to create a custom sales report that is
automatically sent to the Stefano’s with results on how the recommendation engine impacts sales. It takes a
week to set up the automated report.

The Marketing team is tasked with creating the social media channels and handing off its ownership to
Stefano's, which takes a week. But this task must occur before Engineering’s second feature: social media
integration.

The Cast of Characters

● Papa Stefano - store co-founder; Papa Stefano has a strong presence in the family business but
listens to Mama Stefano while making a business decision. He manages the floor and is averse to
new technology. While he understands it’s time to modernize the shopping experience and would
like to gain new customers, he’s wary of going over budget.
● Mama Stefano - store co-founder and certified accountant; she keeps spreadsheets to track
inventory and has convinced Papa to work with Yosemite. Her primary focus is on back-end
administrative tasks of the business. Mama is more concerned about getting the store ready in time
for Christmas shoppers.
● Junior Stefano - The Stefano daughter is a student and is still learning the family business. She
hopes to take over the family business one day; Junior creates social media posts on her own
accounts for the store. She sees value in taking full advantage of Yosemite’s services.
● Moe - the Yosemite Vendor Manager tends to be enthusiastic about upselling customers with
additional services; not mindful of budget. Moe primarily focuses on promoting and coordinating
Yosemite's services, which constitutes a part of the overall project. Additionally, this project is one of
many he works on.
● Aliyah - the Yosemite Engineering Lead is experienced and skilled. She prefers to work in Agile
sprints but understands that not all customers can keep up with that pace. Her expertise in
developing and implementing technical solutions enables her to guide the project's timeline and
execution strategy, making her vital in determining the project's overall direction and progress.
● Taylor - the Yosemite Marketing Manager tends to take on too many assignments and can delay
getting tasks completed. Taylor often needs to be informed of their assignments ahead of time. His
role and contributions are limited to providing support for the implementation of marketing plans
for this project.
● Lou - the Yosemite Small Business Program Manager oversees all accounts that fall under the Small
Business category; You report directly to Lou. Lou only keeps a high-level overview of this project and
its progress. He wants to showcase your project to the entire company if all goes well and
expect regular communication, especially when things go wrong.

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Step 2) Write a Project Scope

The project scope consists of the following sections: business objectives and project value, deliverables and
milestones, a timeline, resources, costs, and a proposed methodology. Use the above scenario to identify
the information relevant to the project scope.

In three to four sentences, describe The main objective for the Yosemite's is to increase revenue and expand
the business objectives for Yosemite into new markets by onboarding more merchants to its platform.
and for the customer, The Stefano
Shop. The main objective is to for the Stefano shop that it doesn’t go out of
business. vie increase revenue and reduce costs through digitize the
store’s operations and sales.

List project milestones and Are milestones including the following:

deliverables. Storefront, Social media integration, Recommendation engine,
Onboarding and training document, social media channels, Automated
sales report, and project processes documents.

What resources as the project the available resources include: The Engineering team, The Vendor
manager do you have to complete Managers, And the Marketing teams.
the project? Project budget: The project budget is $15,000.

Do the Cost-Benefit Analysis. Write Future benefits = $36000

out the formula, show the steps to The upfront cost of the project is $15,000.
get the cost-benefit ratio, and state 𝑃𝐹𝐵 36000
Cost-Benefit Ratio = 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 = 15000 = 2.4
whether the investment is positive The investment is positive since the cost benefits Ratio is higher than 1
or negative.

What are the minimum and the The minimum: 7 weeks

maximum number of weeks The maximum: 12 weeks
required to complete the project?

What methodology do you propose The selected methodology would be waterfall due to the project being a
to use for organizing the project: predictive project with a clear set of requirements and clear end goal.
Waterfall or Agile? Explain your
answer.

What kind of meetings will you have We would have 4 types of meetings with the stakeholders which include:
with stakeholders and how often? • Kickoff meeting: used to review the project plan, and answer any
Explain your answer based on the questions from stakeholders
project methodology you have • Risk reviews: to review and potential risks associated with the
chosen. project
• Acceptance meeting: project to review the final deliverables

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• Celebration: a celebration for the project completion

Step 3) Identify Your Stakeholders and Team

Classify the influence level and amount of authoritative power of each stakeholder as either high or low.
Then accordingly, explain how you plan to engage this stakeholder and how they might affect the project in
a negative or positive way. Your assumptions should, at a minimum, reference the profiles in The Cast of
Characters section in Step 1.

Power-Influence Classification Grid

Estimated Project Estimated Project

Stakeholder Influence Importance Assumptions and Risks
(“High” or “Low”) (“High” or “Low”)

Aliyah, Engineering High High Assumptions: Her decision is

Manager important for project's
overall direction and
progress.

Papa Stefano low High Risk: His decision can be

easily influenced by Mama
Stefan

Mama Stefano High low Risk: Has the power to

influence Papa Stefano

Junior Stefano Low Low Risk: still under the process

of learning.

Moe, Vendor Manager Low Low Not fully aware of the

budget of the project.

Taylor, the Marketing Low Low May cause a delay to the

Manager project vie overloading
himself.

Lou, the Program low High Expecting a regular

Manager communication especially
when things go wrong

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Me, the Project High low New to field of project

Manager management

Create a RACI chart for the project. It will break down the deliverables from the project scope into tasks, but
you will have to show who should be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each row.

RACI Chart
Hint: The Accountable (A) and Responsible (R) stakeholders are the same person for
all tasks, except “Engage stakeholders”

Stakeholders

Tasks Lou, Taylor, Aliyah,

Me, Project Moe, Vendor
Program Marketing Engineering
Manager Manager
Manager Manager Manager

Build storefront I I I I R, A

Input Inventory Data I I I R, A I

Build social media I I C I R, A

integration

Train Stefano’s on I I I R, A I
platform

Create social media I I A R I

channels

Train Stefano’s on I I R, A I I
social media use

Build I I I I R, A
recommendation
engine

Create Automated I I I R, A I
Sales Report

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Engage stakeholders R, A I I I I

Step 4) Create a Project Plan

In this step, you will reference the project scope, stakeholder analysis, and RACI chart to create a project
plan for the proposed methodology.

Build a model of your plan for managing the Yosemite project. It should be a snapshot in the planning
phase of the project. You can use the dates in your current year when creating the project plan.

Display this model in one of the two frameworks, a Gantt chart for Waterfall or a Scrum board for Agile.
After you pick one model, be sure to include the information outlined in your project scope, stakeholder
analysis, and RACI chart:

● Deliverables
● Tasks
● Assignments
● Schedule and order of tasks

Additional Instructions for a Waterfall Project Plan

If you choose a Waterfall project plan in Step 2, you should include tasks related to stakeholder
engagement, team management, and closure activities. Assume that each additional task can take 1-3 days
to complete, so it will affect your schedule. The additional tasks are

● A kickoff meeting,
● Scheduled status reports, and
● Documenting knowledge.

Create a Gantt chart for your project by filling in the Gantt Chart Template provided in the classroom. Export
or save the spreadsheet as a .xls or .xlsx file. Add this spreadsheet to your project submission folder.

Additional Instructions for an Agile Project Plan

If you choose an Agile project plan in Step 2, you should organize the columns using Scrum phases:

● Sprint Planning
● Backlog
● Work In Progress

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● QA
● Release
● Sprint Review

Include relevant tasks that occur in the initial and end phases of a Sprint. Those tasks include:

● Creating a Lessons Learned document

● Adding features to a backlog
● Presenting demos
● Adding tasks to a sprint
● Emailing status reports
● Reviewing Lessons Learned
● Creating documentation for a demo
● Hosting a Retrospective meeting

Create a new Scrum board on Trello and make it public.

● To make your board public, click on Private > Change Visibility: Public > “Yes, make board go public”.
● To grab the public URL, go to Show Menu > …More > Link to This Board.

Paste the URL here:

[TODO: Add your link here]

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Step 5) Analyze Risk and Select Response Strategy

Risk Scenario 1
The Stefano Shop project relies on the customer providing Yosemite with information on all products in its
inventory. The Vendor Manager has reported that the Stefano's have not delivered that information when
requested due to their analog way of handling inventory. They promised to deliver the inventory
information in a few more days.

How might this risk affect the Delay the project: The engineering team and the Vendor team cannot
project? complete their work until they have the inventory information. This could
delay the launch of the storefront and push back the project completion
date. Which might cause some unpleasant feedback from the customer.

Which of these Risk Response Mitigate the Risk.

1. Working on plan with the Stefano's to deliver the inventory information
Strategies would you have chosen
2. Train the Stefano's on how to use the Yosemite's inventory management system
if you had anticipated the risk 3. Keep up with the Stefano's progress on delivering the inventory information
prior to initiating the project: 4. Develop a back up plan
Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, Actively
Accept, Passively Accept, Escalate.
Explain how you would apply the
strategy.

Risk Scenario 2
When the Engineering team began designing the recommendation engine—a feature that takes up 20% of
the current budget—they informed you that the task was more complicated than anticipated. The
Engineering Manager said it would take a total of four weeks and cost an additional $3,500 to upgrade the
AI service that powers the recommendation engine. That fee would have to be covered by the customer. Or
the recommendation engine feature could be dropped from the project.

How might this risk affect the Over budget: The project will go over budget.
project? Delayed launch: The additional four weeks required to implement the
recommendation engine would delay the launch of project. Moreover,
developing a recommendation engine might be drooped in case the
customer refused to cover the extra fee. In addition, the customer
may not be happy with the delay in the project launch.

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Which of these Risk Response Actively Accept the Risk.

Strategies would you apply to the 1. Inform & Communicate with the customer about the additional time and cost
required to complete the recommendation engine.
above risk: Avoid, Mitigate, 2. Work with the customer to adjusting the project timeline, budget, or scope.
Transfer, Actively Accept, Passively 3. Develop a contingency plan be prepared to drop the feature from the project or find
a workaround
Accept, Escalate. Explain how you
would apply the strategy.

Step 6) Plan Knowledge Share and Report Project Status

Knowledge Documentation
Throughout the project and before its closure, you asked the team to create documentation for the
company Yosemite and the customers, the Stefano’s. In your project plan, what documentation tasks did
you include? List below what documentation tasks you came up with, who you assigned them to, how you
scheduled them, and why it is important to document this task. Add more rows to the table if you see fit.
Add these tasks to your project plan if you haven't already done so.

Deadline/Place Reason for

Task Assignee
in Timeline Documenting This Task

Storefront User Guide Engineering team 10/17/2023 To ensure that users understand
how to use all of the features of
the platform

Storefront Onboarding Vendor Management 11/7/2023 To help the Stefano’s on how to

and Training Guide Team use the Yosemite platform.

Project plan Project Manager 9/26/2023 To help share a common goal

and strategy between all
stakeholders

status report Project manager 10/18/2023, To update the stakeholders with

11/08/2023, the project progress
11/29/2023,

Social media User The Marketing team 10/27/2023 Helps the users understand how
Guide to operate the social media
channels

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Recommendation Engineering team 11/23/2023 Guide the user on the usage of

engine user guide the recommendation engine

sales report Vendor management 11/28/2023 Displays all sales activity taking
team place over a certain period of
time

Status Report
In the Monitor and Control phase of project management, it is your responsibility to track how well the
project is going and report to stakeholders the project status.

Where in your project timeline did After delivering a milestone. (Week 6, week 10, and week 15).
you schedule or add the task for at every major risk occurrence
creating and sending a status
report?

How do you plan to communicate A status report will be sent through email to the stakeholders. the status
the report to stakeholders, and report will be sent at every milestone delivery or when a major risk
how often? occurs.

Create two status reports using the Status Report Template provided in the classroom based on the risks
described in Step 5.
1. The first status report should be created on the day you discovered the Stefano’s did not deliver the
inventory information to the Vendor Manager on time.
2. The second status report should be created in the middle of the Engineering team building the
recommendation engine. That is when you were informed by the Engineering Manager that the
project would be more time-consuming and costly.

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Project Status Report #1

PROJECT TITLE: Stefano Shop Digital store COMPANY NAME: Yosemite

PROJECT MANAGER: Mohammed Jefry DATE: 11/10/2023

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Yosemite eCommerce project aims to develop a user-friendly and efficient online storefront for the
Stefano's, integrated with their inventory management system. The project will also provide training and
support to the Stefano's on how to use the online storefront.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS/BLOCKERS
Highlights:
● The developments for the stormfront have started
● The project plan has

Blockers:
● The inventory information has not been delivered by the Stefano's.

PROJECT HEALTH CHECK

Scope Status Tasks: Completed/Pending

Time Completed:
At Risk ● Create the project Plan
● Gather the Requirements

Cost Pending:
On Track ● Creation of the storefront
● Creation of social media channel
● Integration of the social media
Quality On Track
● Train the Stefano's to use the platform
● Development of the recommendation engine
● Create custom salary report
● Documenting knowledge

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Project Status Report #2

PROJECT TITLE: Stefano Shop Digital store COMPANY NAME: Yosemite

PROJECT MANAGER: Mohammed Jefry DATE: 11/12/2023

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Yosemite eCommerce project aims to develop a user-friendly and efficient online storefront for the
Stefano's, integrated with their inventory management system. The project will also provide training and
support to the Stefano's on how to use the online storefront.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS/BLOCKERS
Highlights:
● the storefront has been delivered
● the social media channel has created
● the social media has been integrated
● the Stefano's have received the proper training

Blockers:
● the budget of the recommendation engine was underestimated

PROJECT HEALTH CHECK

Scope Status Tasks: Completed/Pending

Time Completed:
Over ● Creation of the storefront
● Creation of social media channel
● Integration of the social media
Cost ● Train the Stefano's to use the platform
Over Pending:
● Development of the recommendation engine
Quality
● Create custom salary report
On Track
● Documenting knowledge

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