Essay on Maximizing Efficiency: Project Mgmt & System Eng. for Optimal Output

Introduction

The productivity of a company is realized by how efficient it can produce its output. The need for dynamic efficiency is what has necessitated the application of project management and system engineering controls in modern firms. System engineering is a complex process that defines a logical sequence of a set of activities or resources to approve the operational efficiency of a productive process to an ideal system alignment. On the other hand, project management focusses on the application of knowledge and techniques on detailed routine operations to meet specified project objectives. Project management and system engineering are close projects and often intertwine in information technology. For a specialized approach in this paper, system engineering and project management will be applied in the development and use of a video application that will be used to watch movies in mobile phones and movie theatres.

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Applying Project Management and System Engineering

Project Management

Project management in the Information Technology (IT) discipline entails the supervision of projects related to software development, data management, and network upgrades, among others. Various factors may cause a plan to fail, and these factors necessarily do not have to technical issues of an application created, for instance. For example, technological advances may cause changes in infrastructure during the creation of an application. As a result, hardware and software issues will occur, which may result in security and firewall issues of the application created. For this paper, five project management phases will be discussed in the creation of the phone application, which will be used for movie broadcasting. The project for this paper is to create a phone application that will allow video broadcasting in movie theatres.

Phase 1: Initiation

At this phase, the goal of the project will be defined. For instance, the application is created to create movie broadcasting in movie theatres. The application developer will carry out a feasibility study to determine whether the project will be a success in terms of the goals established (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). If the project is feasible, the developer will create a project charter to state stakeholder groups, responsibilities, business case, and the business needs, among others.

Phase 2: Planning

In this phase, the developer creates a sequence of activities to be followed in completing the project. The developer will create SMART goals for the project, for example, to create an application that will provide a High Definition (HD) video output to the audience. The developer will then create a scope statement that details the business essentials, benefits, and deliverables of the project. As well, the developer will create a Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) that lists versatile pieces work for undertaking the project (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). The planning phase also includes the creation of milestones, which are priority goals to be met for the project. As well, the developer will create a Risk Management Plan to determine risks for the project. Such risks include project costs, changing consumer taste as a result of technological changes, customer review cycle, as well as the availability of resources.

Phase 3: Execution

At this phase, the developer implements the project deliverables to complete the project. The execution phase can switch to planning if project goals are not being met between operational phases. Activities in this phase include tracking systems, resource assigning, updating schedules, and modifying project plans, among others.

Phase 4: Monitoring

The developer creates a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) schedule to determine if the project meets its plan. KPI will analyze project objectives, quality of deliverables, and project costs to assess the performance of the project (Nicholas & Steyn, 2017). The developer will then adjust schedules as well as resource allocation to keep the project on track.

Phase 5: Closing

At this stage, the project is tested, verified, and approved and then made available and ready for use. It is at this stage that the developer will make use of the application in broadcasting a film in the movie theatre.

System Engineering

System engineering presents a logical sequence of processes that can be used to design and manage a complex project over its development process. System engineering defines project needs and transforms them into a system product. As well, system engineering provides vital information to decision-makers, which can be used by decision-makers to infer input for the project upgrade. System engineering is applied to each level of project management, providing more technical detail required to make the project development process more operative. In this case, system engineering is used to ensure that the project is not made obsolete with technical advancement during the execution process. Four vital methods of system engineering will be discussed for application in this project.

Stage 1: Requirements Analysis

Requirement analysis provides a linkage between the internal project activities and external factors that contribute inputs for the project. The role of this phase is to transform external inputs into functional supplies that will facilitate the technical and allocation aspect of the project. This phase provides for project needs that will facilitate the execution of the project. The stage defines the mission and customer needs for the project (Brito, Ciampi & Barros, 2017). Upon this, the functional constraints of the project are determined and refined, which then sets the performance requirements and design constraints of the project.

Stage 2: System Analysis

The phase details the developer with the technical work to be performed in developing the application. The developer will create a schedule of work and cost estimates for each work schedule. System analysis ensures that the whole technical process applied meets requirements set, the feasibility of the project, design constraints, and KPI estimates made in the project management phase. Activities in this phase include progress measurements, analysis, and analysis of alternative processes to determine the overall output or goal of the project. System analysis is the hub of the system engineering process, and thus it coordinates the other phases of system engineering. For example, system analysis determines the time at which the results of one schedule dictate the onset of another schedule (Brito, Ciampi, & Barros, 2017). Basic reports created in this phase include System Engineering Plan (SEP), Integrated Master Plan (IMP), and Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).

The phase also defines system/cost-effectiveness, which determines the evaluation process set in project management. Risk management is also studied in this phase to help in determining the risk management phase of the project. The stage also determines measurement parameters to be used during project evaluation. For instance, Configuration Management (CM) and Interface Management (IM) define performance parameters that the developer will use to track the progress of the project.

Stage 3: Functional Analysis

The phase defines requirements for each level of the project management process. The elements are then transformed into a functional process and design limits for the project. The results of this phase are a technical architecture that defines system requirements for each system function to be engineered. The results of this phase are a synthesis activity that defines proposed solutions to all project requirements stated in the project management phase.

The functional process can be divided into two primary sections; decomposition and allocation. In the decomposition process, the developer defines the lower-level functions of the application, which will be used to modify the requirements loop of the project. In the allocation process, the developer defines the top-level functions of the application (Brito, Ciampi & Barros, 2017). For example, these requirements may include the security features and the firewall specifications of the application, which are required to determine user experience. The allocation process dictates measurable elements that define the design criteria of the project.

Stage 4: Design Synthesis

The phase provides a physical architecture of the engineering process that will satisfy the functional requirements of the application. The developer groups project functions into physical designs. The developer will make sure that each software component used to make the application meets a functional requirement. As well, the architecture of the application is verified and justified by trading studies. The developer will also ensure that the physical architecture developed will be able to create a WBS.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of the product is determined by how much the developer outlines the system engineering process in the management of the project. The results of the project must provide an output that appeals to stakeholder groups as well as to technical advances. System engineering is a complex process, and if not adequately executed, will result in a low-quality product. The result of this is obsolescing of the application in terms of technical competence.

References

Brito, C. D. R., Ciampi, M. M., & Barros, V. F. (2017). Efficient Engineering of Complex Systems and Information Technology: A Symbiotic Relationship. In World Congress on System Engineering and Information Technology (Vol. 4, pp. 01-8).

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business and technology. Routledge.