Project Plan assignment for Australian Speleological Federation

Question

Task: which strategies can be used to prepare a Project Plan assignment that identified requirements needed to develop Australian Speleological Federation mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms?

Answer

1. Introduction and Project Background
Primarily, this Project Plan assignment is based on the development of a mobile app for both iOS and Android platforms as requested by Australian Speleological Federation (ASF). This organization works tirelessly in the country to protect the environment and life forms that live within caves and karsts. The organization has considered the wide spread research and excavation activities that are being conducted around the country by cave researchers and has been trying find a suitable solution that will help the cavers to continue their work without unnecessarily harming the cave ecosystems. Considering several options, the organization came up with the idea of developing a subscription based mobile app that will act as a guide cum information portal for cavers containing a huge cloud based database of all caves and karsts found in Australia including their ecosystems and environments. This application will help the cavers to find out sufficient amount of information regarding the caves within their research so that they can take appropriate precautions while conducting their research activities.

2. Project Plan assignmentSWOT Analysis
Based on the research done during the Project Plan assignment, the requirements set by ASF, a detailed SWOT analysis has been conducted on the project and listed in the following table(Ikaet al. 2020).

Stakeholder Designation	Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities
Project Manager	The project manager will manage and handle the entire project including establishing communication channels between management and working team, providing guidance to the team, managing different aspects of the project and others.
Project Sponsor	The project sponsor(s) will provide funding to the project as per the budget and requirements.
Lead Developer	The lead developer will be in charge of developing the application as per the requirements. The developer can hire team members to manage different aspects of the development.
Application Tester	The application tester will be responsible for testing the prototype as well as the final version of the application.
Content Creator	The content creator will be responsible for developing content including project documentation, creating online contents that will be hosted into the application and others.
Financial Manager	The financial manager will be responsible for managing the funds allocated to the project by the sponsors.

Although there are some major weaknesses and threats noticed in the Project Plan assignment, it also has a wide range of strengths and opportunities. Additionally, the project has the potential to create a pioneering app that will be one of a kind currently in the market(Picciotto 2020). The app is also expected to generate significant interest among the cavers and is also estimated to generate significant amount of revenue for ASF.

3. Project Charter
3.1 Project Plan assignment Scope
The overall scope of the Project Plan assignment is to develop a mobile app with the requirements and functionalities specified by ASF. Additionally, the app needs to be supported by both Android and iOS operating systems and the entire development life cycle will follow standard procedures like rolling out storyboards, developing and testing a prototype and then developing and publishing the final version of the app. The scope of the project also includes implementation of online security system in order to protect user data from external threats like hackers and malicious entities.

3.2 Project Objectives
The main objectives of the Project Plan assignment are listed as follows.
? To publish storyboards with detailed features and functionalities requested by ASF
? To develop a prototype of the app as required by ASF
? To develop a final version of the mobile app (to be supported by both Android and iOS) that will assist the cavers in providing guidance regarding environmentally safe practices while conducting research activities within caves

3.3 Project Deliverables
The main deliverables of the project are listed as follows.
? Project storyboards
? Application prototype
? Final version of the application with cloud based database
? Online security firewall
? Project report document

3.4 Project Duration and Cost
As per the directions of ASF, the overall project needs to be completed within a time period of five months after which, the app should be ready and running. ASF has also specified an overall budgetary investment of $200,000 in the developmental year within which, the entire Project Plan assignment needs to be completed including development of the app and recruitment and training of staff for managing the back end of the application.

4. Project Plan assignment Stakeholder Register and Management Strategy
Stakeholders will play extremely important roles in the project considering its limitations regarding scope, time and budget(Teresoet al. 2019). A stakeholder register for the Project Plan assignment has been created listing the major stakeholders who will play major roles in the project as follows.

Discount rate (Rate of Return)	8.50%
Start Date	7/02/2022

Project Completed at the	Year
	0	1	2	3	Total
Costs/Expenditures	$ 200,000	$ 20,000	$ 25,550	$ 26,780	272,330
Discount factor	1.00	0.92	0.85	0.78
Discounted Costs/Expenditures	$ 200,000	$ 18,400	$ 21,718	$ 20,888	261,006

Benefits/Revenues	$ -	$ 100,000	$ 180,000	$ 200,000
Discount factor	1.00	0.92	0.85	0.78
Discounted Benefits/Revenues	$ -	$ 92,000	$ 153,000	$ 156,000	401,000

Discounted benefits - costs	$ (200,000)	$ 73,600	$ 131,283	$ 135,112	139,994	NPV
Cumulative benefits - costs	$ (200,000)	$ (126,400)	$ 4,883	$ 139,994
Payback Period (Linear): 2.96 years			24 Jan 25
ROI	54%

Among all the stakeholders listed above, three key stakeholders to be discussed here are the project manager, lead developer and project sponsor. Once the roles and responsibilities are assigned to the respective stakeholders, it is also required to manage the stakeholders so as to ensure all of them are performing as per the requirements. The role of managing the stakeholders is on the steering committee that will oversee the work progresses and reports of the stakeholders. The project manager will be assigned to maintain communication channels between the steering committee and the other stakeholders as well as the team members(Müller, Drouinand Sankaran2019). The lead developer will be required to create daily progress logs that will be sent to the steering committee on weekly basis. The sponsors will submit the funds for the project at the start but will oversee spending reports generated by the financial manager of the project.

5. Team Contract
Project Name: Development of Mobile App for Australian Speleological Federation (ASF)
Project Manager:
Date:
COMMITMENTS
? The team members must be committed to the Project Plan assignment at all times from the start to the end.
? The team members are not permitted to attend other commitments unless permission is granted by the steering committee.
? The project team members must be committed to follow the requirements set by the client and not work on their own accords.

TEAMMEETING
? In addition to daily communications among the team members, it is required for the team members to attend weekly meeting hosted by the project manager.
? The team members must provide evidence of their work to the project manager in the team meeting through progress reports.
? The team members can exchange ideas among each other in the team meeting but implementation of such ideas should be done only if approved by the project manager.

CODESOFCONDUCT
The team members are required to work professionally and diligently throughout the Project Plan assignment.
Any personal conflicts or disputes should not appear as obstacles to the project.
The team members should not act without approval of superiors.
Conflicts due to different ideas in the project need to be resolved under the guidance of a superior like the project manager.

SIGNATURES
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________

6. Financial Projections and Analysis

Discount rate (Rate of Return)	8.50%
Start Date	7/02/2022

Project Completed at the	Year
	0	1	2	3	Total
Costs/Expenditures	$ 200,000	$ 20,000	$ 25,550	$ 26,780	272,330
Discount factor	1.00	0.92	0.85	0.78
Discounted Costs/Expenditures	$ 200,000	$ 18,400	$ 21,718	$ 20,888	261,006

Benefits/Revenues	$ -	$ 100,000	$ 180,000	$ 200,000
Discount factor	1.00	0.92	0.85	0.78
Discounted Benefits/Revenues	$ -	$ 92,000	$ 153,000	$ 156,000	401,000

Discounted benefits - costs	$ (200,000)	$ 73,600	$ 131,283	$ 135,112	139,994	NPV
Cumulative benefits - costs	$ (200,000)	$ (126,400)	$ 4,883	$ 139,994
Payback Period (Linear): 2.96 years			24 Jan 25
ROI	54%

7. SDLC Model for the Project
There are multiple models of system development that are available but it is required to choose a specific one that fits the type and nature of the project. Each model follows different set of methodologies and while some models simply a project, others increase the complexity unnecessarily(San Cristóbal et al. 2018). Hence, it is important to identify the project needs specifically and then select an SDLC model that suits it most perfectly.

Some of the most common SDLC models include Waterfall model, Agile model, RAD model and others. Considering the limitations of time and budget as well as the requirements of the project, waterfall model is chosen. Waterfall model will help to simplify the entire project life cycle and will also provide a step by step approach that is easy to follow for a small working team. Although waterfall model is less quality-focused approach than agile, it is easier to execute and the requirements are easy to understand(Hairand Sarstedt2021). Moreover, waterfall model will ensure the final output fulfils the necessary standards of quality and requirements or the project can go back to an earlier stage for re-execution.

In this project’s life cycle, the waterfall model will form the following stages of development:
Initiation
Planning
Development and Testing
Monitoring and Control
Closing

8. Project Plan assignment Work Breakdown Structure
The work breakdown structure of the project is shown as follows.

Work-Breakdown-Structure-in-Created-by-Author

Figure 1: Work Breakdown Structure
(Source: Created by Author)

9. Gantt Chart, Durations and Critical Path
The Gantt chart of the project along with durations and critical path is shown as follows.

Gantt-Chart-with-Durations-and-Critical-Path-Marked-in-Red-in-Created-by-Author

Figure 2: Gantt Chart with Durations and Critical Path (Marked in Red)
(Source: Created by Author)

10. Cost Estimate
The overall budget for the project for the development year has been set at $200,000. The financial breakdown based on cost estimates for the project is shown in the following table.

Cost Elements	Cost Estimates
New hardware and software costs	$100,000
Development costs	$40,000
External personnel wages	$30,000
Conveyance and other costs	$20,000
Contingency	$10,000
TOTAL	$200,000

11. Communication Management Plan
Communication in projects is extremely essential in order to maintain proper flow of information among relevant personnel(Maet al. 2018). This project also requires appropriate communications that need to be managed as specified in the following table.

Stakeholder	Purpose	Frequency	Medium
Project Manager	Sharing of ideas, guidance requirements, approvals	Weekly or as required	Team Meeting
Project Sponsor	Allocation of total budget	Before project start	Email
Lead Developer	Discussion of project requirements as specified by client	Before initiating the project	Face to face, requirements document
Application Tester	Application requirements and build details	After prototype and final version development	Face to face, project progress report
Content Creator	Documentation and content development requirements	Weekly	Team meeting
Financial Manager	Phased budget allocation	Monthly	Email, expense report

12. Potential Risks and Risk Register
There are many risks that have been identified on this Project Plan assignment and can threaten to create major problems. Hence, it is important to identify the risks and take appropriate actions so as to avoid any unwanted negative impacts on the project(Bjorvatnand Wald2018). Among all the possible risks, four major risks are identified and listed in the form of a risk register as follows.

Risk Description	Probability	Impact	Mitigation
The first major risk that is identified is the cyber security risk. Unprotected database can be extremely vulnerable to external attacks as third party entities can easily steal and misuse user data stored in the database.	High	High	In order to avoid this risk, security firewalls need to be implemented while developing the application and before migrating the data to the database(Chawlaet al. 2018).
Another major risk for the project is the change of requirements by the client when the project is underway and the storyboards have been published.	Medium	High	Avoid introduction of changes while the project is underway; in case of necessary changes, suitable change management procedures need to be followed.
Budget overshoot is a major risk for the project as the budget has very limited flexibility(Chofrehet al. 2019). Unnecessary expenses can lead to major financial problems for the project.	Low	Medium	Expenses in the project need to be controlled and supervised by the financial manager. Any unnecessary expenses need to be avoided and / or rectified.
Conflicts and disputes among team members can lead to major problems in the project.	Low	Medium	The team lead needs to be aware of the behaviours of the team members during the project. All kinds of conflicts must be avoided even if it requires special team meeting under the supervision of the project manager.

13. Weekly Status Reports
13.1 Week 1
In this week, team member 1 analysed the project requirements and developed a project proposal. The project proposal was heavily based on the project roadmap that is required to plan and execute the project. Additionally, the feasibility analysis of the project has also been conducted in this week.

13.2 Week 2
In this week, team member 2 took the initiative of developing the scope and objectives of the project. With the assistance of the other team members, he was able to identify the main scope of the project that needs to be maintained without any flexibility. Accordingly, the project objectives were set that were in line with the client requirements as mentioned in the Project Plan assignment.

13.3 Week 3
In this week, team member 3 developed the project timeline and allocated the budget into various work packages. For the purpose of timeline development and budget allocation, a work breakdown structure was developed that was then converted into a Gantt chart using Microsoft Project software.

13.4 Week 4
In this week, team member 4 conducted a risk analysis of the project and identified the major risks that can threaten the Project Plan assignment. He also developed a risk register for listing all the risks and prioritising them according their risk ratings (product of probability and impact).

References
Bjorvatn, T. and Wald, A., 2018. Project complexity and team-level absorptive capacity as drivers of project management performance. International Journal of Project Management, 36(6), pp.876-888.
Chawla, V., Chanda, A., Angra, S. and Chawla, G., 2018. The sustainable project management: A review and future possibilities. Journal of Project Management, 3(3), pp.157-170.
Chofreh, A.G., Goni, F.A., Malik, M.N., Khan, H.H. and Klemeš, J.J., 2019. The imperative and research directions of sustainable project management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 238, p.117810.
Hair, J.F. and Sarstedt, M., 2021. Explanation Plus Prediction—The Logical Focus of Project Management Research. Project Management Journal, p.8756972821999945.
Ika, L.A., Söderlund, J., Munro, L.T. and Landoni, P., 2020. Cross-learning between project management and international development: Analysis and research agenda. International Journal of Project Management, 38(8), pp.548-558.
Ma, X., Xiong, F., Olawumi, T.O., Dong, N. and Chan, A.P., 2018. Conceptual framework and roadmap approach for integrating BIM into lifecycle project management. Journal of Management in Engineering, 34(6), p.05018011.
Müller, R., Drouin, N. and Sankaran, S., 2019. Modeling organizational project management. Project Management Journal, 50(4), pp.499-513.
Picciotto, R., 2020. Towards a ‘New Project Management’movement? An international development perspective. International Journal of Project Management, Project Plan assignment 38(8), pp.474-485.
San Cristóbal, J.R., Carral, L., Diaz, E., Fraguela, J.A. and Iglesias, G., 2018. Complexity and project management: A general overview. Complexity, 2018.
Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G., Loureiro, I. and Ferreira, M., 2019. Project management practices in private organizations. Project Management Journal, Project Plan assignment 50(1), pp.6-22.