Turner & Townsend and the University of Exeter Business School - Project Management Essay Example

The University of Exeter commissioned Turner & Townsend (T&T) as project manager for the building of their new business school. T&T worked together with their cost management team, plus the client, the University of Exeter, architects HLM, consulting engineers Hoare Lee and civil and structural company Opus International and the contractor for the project was BAM. The objective of the project was to give the client a building that would boost its position as an international business school with a wow factor added to it. Some of the challenges they faced including satisfying the needs of different stakeholders in the project and working within the limited timeframes and budget. At one time, they had to redesign the building at an advanced stage. The project was highly complicated but through effective leadership, coordination and communication, the team management to finish the project on schedule.

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Application of the Concept and Principles

Concept

Quality was one of the key concepts considered in the course of the project. The client expected a high-quality building that would satisfy their needs while at the same time cater to other stakeholders. Subsequently, the project manager had to ensure that the project was run with quality as a primary consideration.

The project also had to be delivered according to cost expectation. The client had a budget set, and the project manager had to ensure that the project fell within the price expectation while at the same time not compromising on quality and time to satisfy the stakeholders' wishes.

The project had a limited time applied to it. The project manager had to ensure that the project was carried out within the given time frame as per clients' and stakeholders' expectations.

Time Management Plan

A time management plan is a schedule that allows the project manager to organize and implement tasks within the given time of the project (MindTools, 2016). A time management plan divides tasks between specific activities.

The Gantt chart above is aimed at scheduling tasks within the available time. Specific duties in the project are allocated specific times within when to be carried out and the individuals to carry them out.

WBS

A work breakdown structure is a critical tool in project management that is aimed at dividing the project deliverables into manageable sections (WBS, 2014). A work breakdown structure is oriented towards deliverables and uses a ranked classification of the tasks to be implemented by the project team. In a work breakdown structure, the scopes are visually divided into manageable portions that can be understood by the project team (Project Smart, 2017). There are further details related to each section provided for every level of the work breakdown section.

WBS

From the work breakdown structure above, time and cost can be attached to the project deliverables. The project manager can, therefore, plan accordingly and monitor the progress of deliverables.

Payback period

The payback period is the duration an investment takes to recover its initial costs. A projects payback period is an important determining factor in influencing whether to undertake the project or not (AccountingTools, 2016). Shorter payback periods are more desirable than long payback periods are (Schmidt, 2017). The payback period does not take into consideration the time value of money unlike other strategies of capital budgeting such as discounted cash flow and net present value.

End of Year Annual Cash Flow ($) Cumulative Cash Flow ($)

0 500000 500000

1 6500000 1150000

2 750000 1900000

3 850000 27500000

4 950000 3700000

The above table shows annual cash flow versus cumulative cash flow over the years. Payback period is calculated by dividing the initial cost of the project by annual cash flows.

Quality Management Plan

The quality management plan is used as a benchmark to define the desired level of quality that is acceptable as set by the client (PMA, 2006). The plan elaborates how the project will achieve and sustain the desired level of quality in its deliverable and work processes.

Quality Management Plan

Project Name Project Manager: Date

What Why When How Who What Other

Characteristic Type Reason Timing Method Owner Status Comments

For the plan, information is obtained from the client and filled in by the project manager. The project manager will then continuously monitor the status of deliverables against the set benchmarks.

Communication Plan

A communication plan is used to manage efficient communication with stakeholders in a project. It lays out the framework for communication in the duration of the project (TechTarget, 2017). Effective and efficient two-way communication is necessary for the success of the project. An effective communication plan will detail the objectives of communication, the communication channel, the target audience and the critical components of the communication.

Communications Plan

The communications plan detailed above indicates the personnel and stakeholders to be involved in the communication. It then provides a framework of the means of communication that will be used for the different types of content that will be communicated to stakeholders.

Change Management Plan

The change management plan is used to document relevant information that is required to effectively manage change from the time it is initiated to its delivery (CDC, 2016). The change management plan is created in the planning phase of the project. The intended audience of the plan is the project manager, project implementation team, financiers of the project, and any senior leaders whose authority is required to execute the plan.

The change management plan details a clear process that tracks, submits and coordinates, reviews, categorizes and sets for approval of all changes to the projects standards. In this way, change can be efficiently handled by all parties in the project without confusion or conflict.

Risk Management Plan

The risk management plan is a document that the project manager creates to predict the possible risks to be encountered, predict the effects of the risks, and explain the best possible responses to the risks (Queensland Government, 2016). The risk management plan also has a risk assessment Matrix for assessment of risks to establish their potential damage (Watt, 2016).

The project manager ensures that the top risks are clearly defined and expressed. Mitigation measures are then proposed in the vent the risk takes place.

Conclusion

From the discussion, it has been established that project management is critical for several reasons. To begin with, projects are chaotic if not organized as witnessed in the building of the University of Exeter School Of Business. Secondly, project management enables the risks encountered in the project to be managed effectively. If not managed, they can stall the project. Project management also governs the quality of the project. For instance, the University of Exeter as the client stated their desired quality to the project manager who had to ensure the clients' and other stakeholders' needs were met. Project management also manages change and enables the project to integrate changes effectively.

References

AccountingTools. (2016). Payback Period Formula - AccountingTools. Retrieved from http://www.accountingtools.com/payback-period-formula

CDC. (2016). Change Management Plan. Retrieved from https://www2a.cdc.gov/cdcup/library/templates/CDC_UP_Change_Management_Plan_Template.doc

MindTools. (2016). What Is Time Management? - Time Management Skills From MindTools.com. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_00.htm

PMA. (2006). PMA - 3.Plan - Develop Quality Management Plan. Retrieved from https://pma.doit.wisc.edu/plan/3-2/what.html

Project Smart. (2017). Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Retrieved from https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/work-breakdown-structure.php

Queensland Government. (2016). Preparing a risk management plan and business impact analysis | Queensland Government. Retrieved from https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/risk-management/risk-management-plan-business-impact-analysis

Schmidt, M. (2017). Payback Period Defined Measured Calculated Example Explained. Retrieved from https://www.business-case-analysis.com/payback-period.html

TechTarget. (2017). What is communication plan? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/communication-plan

Watt, A. (2016). 16. Risk Management Planning | Project Management. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-16-risk-management-planning-project-management/

WBS. (2014). What is a Work Breakdown Structure - Workbreakdownstructure.com. Retrieved from http://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/