Capstone Experience : 1450192

Introduction

The information technology sector has been able to scale up its operations on a daily basis where this mode of change has been greatly propelled by the advancements in technology that are being encountered across different environmental conditions that are geared towards putting much focus on several forms of innovations. Moreover, it has been adequately acknowledged that a good number of business firms in this modern world are not in a position of competing with one another if their respective business information technology strategies are not adequately aligned with their modes of operation across different market platforms. There are a good number of proposals that have been made for the attainment of strategic alignments across various organizations whose mode of operations have been concentrated within the information technology boundaries. It still appears that a vast range of alignments still needs to be adequately investigated based on formulating and implementing different aspects of formulation strategies on the lower abstraction levels with an intention of adequately analyzing, monitoring and even controlling quite a number of desired results. On the other hand, the alignment of business and the Information technology sector has proved to be one of the most fundamental challenges for both practice and science in this modern world. The entire information Technology governance majorly entails various types of information and an adequate implementation of a more reliable information technology strategy thus making sure that the fusion both business and IT is carried out in a reasonable manner with much ease.

The major purpose of this document is to come up with a reliable project plan that will be able to provide the IT Project Capstone Group some of the major considerations that will be taken into account in relation to the implementation of the design artifacts linked to the Information Technology sector which are known to be focused with taking the organization’s operations to another top notch level of operation. As a result, the entire document adequately covers a documented list of various team with a clear and adequately descriptions of the roles that they are capable of playing within the organizational boundaries both at the internal and external parts thus providing a clear picture of their major areas of contribution when it comes to the implementation of the design artifact that aims towards changing the phase of the whole organization. It also contains a list of key stakeholders linked to the organization and how these stakeholders are in a position of getting aligned with all the goals and objectives of the entire organization as far as its achievement of goals are concerned. Moreover, it also provides a list of various stakeholders’ who are likely to be impacted on by the project from a vast range of perspectives. Quite a number of key business objectives are also covered in the document with an intention of determining the direction that the organization is likely to take based on its potentiality when it comes to implementing various parameters that are linked with the information technology sector. Finally, quite a number of success factors have also been captured within the document to determine the level of success path that the project is likely to take in order to address all the goals and objectives belonging to the organization.

Team members

Choosing appropriate and reliable team is very essential for the success off the whole project thus providing n opportunity of attaining various goals through generation of ideas from individuals attached to different professional backgrounds. There are quite a number of reasons as to why team members need to be chosen in an appropriate way to foster conditions that are related to development. Firstly, coming up with reliable team members will provide one of the most fundamental opportunities of gaining an overall efficiency over the whole project that is yet to be implemented. It is one of the biggest benefits that can always be derived from creating an excellent team that will be able to fully support the entire project implementation. Again, a well-managed team that is perfectly organized is likely to be more productive since it spends less amount of time to focus on tasks that are of low value but instead, they will always try as much as possible to focus on the ones that are linked to high value. Again, a more reliable team will be able to provide better skills and high allocation of different resources that will be focused on bringing out the best as far as the project’s goals and objectives are concerned. This is likely to be encountered by an adequate maximization of every team member as a result of an adequate utilization of every individual’s strengths alongside their respective areas of expertise. Moreover, the team will also make it much easier to adequately distribute workload and responsibilities to every member. Finally, the project members will also be able to put in their levels of trust and professionalism into the entire project to ensure that it is capable of attaining all its intended goals and objectives within the shortest time possible without going through any unnecessary difficulties. The following is a list of various team members are the roles that they will be able to play to ensure a better outcome;

Team membersRoles
ITS teamProvides high levels of assistance and support in terms of developing a reasonable security environment
Project managerWill ensure that the team is in a position of completing the whole project within the designated time frame without any delaysWill also have a full ownership for all management tasks that are linked to the project
Executive stakeholderWill be able to vest high levels of interest in completing the project and also how the project will be in a position of impacting on their respective areas
ITS sponsorWill try to focus on some of the major activities of the entire project and will also be in a position of providing any form of additional information that might be requested by the business sponsor

Key stakeholders

When talking about key stakeholders within any business environment, it normally a fully trusted party that is known to be having a full interest in various activities that are linked to a company and to some extent, they can either affect or be affected by the entire business. As a result, there are various stakeholders who will be fully linked to the project and they will be in a position of performing various roles just to ensure. On the other hand, the engagement of these stakeholders is likely to come on board with a vast range of benefits to the whole organization thus making sure that everything is done in an appropriate way. They will be able to create one of the most favorable environmental conditions for an appropriate decision making to be carried out thereby providing an opportunity of being able to view some of the things that will work alongside the ones that will not work as far as the business operations are concerned. Again, an appropriate implementation of a good stakeholder tea will ensure that high levels of accountability are attained within the project by making sure that transparency as a major parameter is majorly focused on at all times. As a result, it will be much easier to be clear about the overall project outcomes that will be attained together with all the steps that will be taken into consideration just to ensure that the goals and objectives are addressed in a realistic manner. Interestingly, engaging the stakeholders within the project boundaries will adequately help in the generation of high levels of trust and credibility across different team members who will be focused towards making the project a success. The following are some of the key stakeholders who are likely to be associated with the project based on various operations that will be carried out at different times;

StakeholdersRoles
Project customerThis is the party whose needs are in a position of driving the whole projectIs in a position of receiving the final output that is likely to be produced on behalf of various operations carried out within the project
Project sponsorThis is the party that has a formal authority and will be ultimately responsible for the whole projectWill be able to oversee various operations taking place within the projectWill also act as a liaison between the top management team and the overall leader of the project
 SuppliersThey will be able to offer various products and services for the project to be implemented perfectly 
Local communityProvides the project team with more information that might be in a position of fully supporting the project

Appropriate communication within the project will also be of much importance since it is the only way that will adequately ensure various people are provided some essential information regarding the progress of different activities that are linked to the research itself. The following communication plan will be taken into implementation on behalf of the entire project;

CommunicationMethodFrequencyGoalOwner
Status of the project reportEmail platformWeekly basisReview of the entire status of the project alongside various potential issuesThe appointed project manager
Team startupmeetingDailyDiscussion of what was previously done by every team memberProject manager
Review of the projectmeetingAccording to the milestonesPresenting the deliverables of the project and gathering appropriate feedbackProject manager
Post-mortem meetingmeetingAt the end of the projectAccess of what worked and what was not able to function as expectedProject manager
Update of the project task progressTeam GanntDaily recordsSharing of daily progress that has been made on specific tasks linked to the projectProject manager

Project background

There are a wide range of organizations in this modern society that have been in a position of perfectly implementing various information technology tools within their respective departments thus ensuring that high levels of success are well attained with minimal efforts based on what an organization is in a position of doing as far as all its target goals and objectives are concerned. One of the major problems that is facing this organization is that it is still using various forms of information technology systems that are obsolete and also doesn’t have properly designed models of information technology parameters within the organization that can be used in the analysis and implementation of various processes that can make the organization to become very competitive in relation to all the services that it is able to offer to its target customer segments. As a result of this, one of the main reasons as to why the whole project needs to be considered within the organization’s boundaries is because it will allow an opportunity of coming up with a reliable combination of some design artifacts which will help in the replacement of the old system which will further call for an upgrade to make sure that all the organizational tasks both at the internal and external environments are dealt with in a reasonable manner without encountering any unnecessary complications that might hinder any condition that is related to positive progress. As far as the system’s current situation is concerned, it is not in a position of working out perfectly to meet the existing demand as it should be. It has always been accompanied by a vast range of drawbacks which has further hindered an efficient operation of different departments across the organization. The worst part is that there are times when the system always shuts down unexpectedly thus leading to lot of delays within the organization which further contributes towards serious losses that are encountered by the management team. Decisions have been made by the management team to make sure that there is an upgrade done to the existing system for an efficient mode of operation to work out perfectly for the organization. This will include coming up with one of the most advanced and understandable design artifacts based on the existing system which will further help in the evaluation of various parameters attached to the system that will require some sort of an upgrade for a smooth and continuous operations to be taking place within the organization’s operating boundaries. Again, the decisions that have been made have clearly proposed that only parameters that are genuine and of high quality will be used in the implementation stage of the whole system to propel the organization’s information technology performance program to the highest level where it can be able to compete with all the existing competitors within the market. Previous work that were carried out by some experts within the organization were done in a substandard way which could not meet the expectation of the management team and as a result of this, it did not last long before the system started to encounter problems again. Moreover, this is what has led towards the whole project being proposed hopping that it would be a game changer both to the organization and its customers who are situated across different regions.

Key objectives that are linked to the business

There are a number of objectives that are associated with the business and due to such objectives, the business aims towards moving in a forward direction where it will be in a position of offering quality and timely services. The following are some of the major objectives of the project based on what it will bring to the entire organization;

  • Improves the overall efficiency of the organization in terms of doing certain tasks
  • Aims towards creating high levels of awareness in relation to how the whole system is operating from various perspectives
  • It also aims towards developing a critical thinking conditions among the top management officials for them to be able to think logically and value the importance of information technology within the organization.

Success Factors

At times, there is the likelihood of reaching towards various goals that are linked to the whole project but might fail to meet several other criteria that are aligned with a successful completion of the whole project. The ability to have an accomplished manager of the whole project is normally one of the first and vital steps towards the success of the project itself. Moreover, there exists several other major factors that are in a position of contributing towards the outcome of a given project. In order to emerge as a success, any given product normally needs to develop a careful planning and effective communication. Due to this, there exists various success factors that will be used to monitor the progress of the business right from its time of implementation to the time when it will be completed. The following are some of the critical success factors;

  • Timely delivery of various processes- When various processes that are linked to the project are delivered on time without any delays, this clearly indicates that the project is in a position of making a positive progress towards the right direction.
  • Meeting key deadlines- The ability of various individuals running the project to be able to meet some of the key deadlines associated with it clearly indicates that the whole team is dedicated towards bringing out the best from what the project is aiming towards attaining within a specified time limit.
  • Open communication- Coming up with a more open communication channel is very essential and it will be very vital for the project to be able to attain its success levels. When the team will be working on a specific task, it would be very essential for it to be adequately informed based on very aspect that is linked to the project. At the same time, there would be the need to learn when to say no. this means that an individual should not make empty promises that cannot be delivered. Finally, there would be the need for the project manger to try as much as possible to be honest in some of the things that can be delivered and also decided on an appropriate time when it would be delivered.

Scope of the Project

The system will basically ensure that a fundamental outcome is well attained in terms of handling various operations that are taking place both at the internal and external parts of the organization. This would be done by focusing on its upgrade through the use of various forms of modern Information Technology parameters which would finally add up as a game changer to the whole organization.

Resources

Team membersRoles
ITS teamProvides high levels of assistance and support in terms of developing a reasonable security environment
Project managerWill ensure that the team is in a position of completing the whole project within the designated time frame without any delaysWill also have a full ownership for all management tasks that are linked to the project
Executive stakeholderWill be able to vest high levels of interest in completing the project and also how the project will be in a position of impacting on their respective areas
ITS sponsorWill try to focus on some of the major activities of the entire project and will also be in a position of providing any form of additional information that might be requested by the business sponsor

One major software that will be required for the project is the Microsoft computer software

Assumptions, constraints and Risks

There exists a variety of assumptions, constraints and even risks that will be fully associated with the project and to some extent they might end up affecting the way the whole project handles its operations.

Assumptions- One of the most common assumptions is that the project sponsor will always be available when required to take part in consultation processes at any given time. Another assumption is that the project will be in a position of getting access to all the resources that will be required for its completion to take place. Moreover, it will also be assumed that all the team members will be having all the required skills to conduct certain operations for the benefit of the organization.

Constraints- One major constraint is that the members will be expected to deliver certain involving operations within a span of three weeks which appears to be a very limited time limit. On the other hand, there are certain operations that might be costly to carry out during the project implementation process.

Risks- One of the first and major risk is the schedule risk where various project activities are likely to take longer than expected thus leading towards unpredictable delays. Another risk is likely to be the cost risk where various forms of project cost escalations are likely to emerge as a result of poor estimation of cost.

                                                                      References

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