Example Of Essay On Project Management Recommendation.

Dear Sponsor,

I am writing in response to your earlier mail dated 1st October 2014 regarding the selection of one of the projects. We carried out a critical analysis and reviewed each project individually and compared all the projects. Based on our analysis we recommend project Palomino. This decision is based on the analysis of the facts you provided. The fundamental differentiator for this projector in comparison to the others is lower risk involved and the favorable return on investment. Below is our detailed analysis:

Project Juniper:

Schedule Risk: Low
Project Cost: $325000
Project durations: 6 months
ROI: $250,000 yearly, 2-3 years.
Project life: 2-3 years
Positives:
The project has a low schedule risk.
The project is an enhancement of the existing widget, hence the availability of expertise to execute the project.
The breakeven point of the project is around 2 years.
Forecasting will be accurate.
Forecasts indicate the availability of ready a market for the product.
Negatives:
The product life is estimated at 2-3 years, this exposes the company to an uncertain future.
Conclusion:
Project Stargazer:
Schedule Risk: High
Project estimated completion Cost: $ 575,000.
Project Duration: Uncertain
ROI: $300,000, 550,000, $750,000 for first, second and third year respectively. 
ROI total = $ 1600,000

Project life: 7 years

Positives:

Product is futuristic

The product reinforces the strategic objective of the organization.
Negatives:

High risk, both in the schedule and in feasibility.

The project does not have the support of all the stakeholders.
There is a high variance in forecasting.
The product being a new line of production may require new expertise to be successfully launched.
Recommendation:
Whereas the company has incurred a substantial sunk cost in the research and development of the product, there is considerable uncertainty in the product and the expected completion date. There is need for a higher level of analysis and if necessary seeking an expert opinion on the viability of such a product.

Project Palomino:

Schedule Risk: Medium
Project Cost: $655000
Project duration: 9 months
ROI: $450,000 yearly for 5 years total = $ 2250,000
Project life: 7 years
Positives:

Product is feasible,

The risk of this project is medium, which can be mitigated or transferred to an insurer.
The forecasting is fairly accurate.
The payback period is 1.5 years.

Existing technology will be used, thus the availability of in-house talent to handle the project.

Negatives:

The negatives for this project are manageable.

Recommendation:
We recommend this project be pursued as it has a medium risk, a high ROI and a short payback period. Besides the project is futuristic since it has a life of 7 years.

Phases of a project:

All project go through five phases i.e. initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closure (PMBOK, 2013). Each of the phases are described below in detail;

Initiation phase:

This is the beginning of the project. This phase acknowledges that a project should begin. This phase grants approval for the organization’s resources to be utilized on the project. If the project has a project manager, he/she can begin identifying the resources to be deployed in the project at this phase. At this phase, the business case for the project needs to be reviewed so as to put the strategic vision of the project into perspective. The key deliverables of this phase are project charter and stakeholder identification (Mulcahy, 2013). In the initiation phase, the stakeholder influence is high, and the cost of change at this phase is minimal.

Planning Phase.

In this phase, the project goals and objectives are formulated and revisited. In this phase, the project management plan is created. The planning phase also involves identifying alternatives on how the project can be implemented should the initial plan not work. In this phase the requirements of the project are fleshed and strategies of dealing with the various stakeholders are identified. In the planning phase, project managers perform a number of iterations. The planning phase encompasses aspects such as the project budget, scope planning, activity definition, risk planning, human resource planning, procurement planning and communication planning. Most conflicts arise during the planning phase.

Execution phase:

This phase involves directing the project resources to deliver on the project objectives. In the execution phase, any approved changes are also implemented. This execution phase consumes most of the project resources and time. Costs are highest at this project phase. The greatest conflicts on schedule are experienced at this phase.

Monitoring and Control.

This phase is critical in measuring and evaluating how the project is progressing. The project performance parameters are measured and analyzed at this phase. The purpose of this phase is to identify any problems early enough for corrective action to be taken. This phase is not a stand-alone phase but rather overlaps other phases, as monitoring and control is a continuous process in the whole project from initiation to closure.

Closure:

This is the last phase of the project life cycle. This phase formally brings an end to the project. In this phase, documentation of any lessons learned are gathered and archived for future references (Randolph, 2014).

References

Project Management Body of Knowledge. (2013). 5th ed. Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute.
Mulcahy, R. (2013). PMP Exam Prep. 8th ed. RMC Publication Inc, pp.69-78.
Randolph, S. (2014). Maximizing Project Value: A Project Manager's Guide. Project Management Journal, 45(2).