Project planning and management health care industry Assignment
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Introduction - Project planning and management health care industry
Project Management can be referred to the use of tools and techniques, skills, and knowledge to deliver something valuable to people. Working on a project is not easy for an organization as it sounds. Every project has different requirements and the project manager needs to apply different methods, skills to fulfill the same. This report is based on a project on food processing.
The report will be divided into three parts. In PART-A, the background of this project, and the project management techniques which will be used for managing the development of the product i.e., an energy drink. The steps the project manager will need to take for improving the term-to-market of this new product will be discussed. Quality management and its key steps will be discussed along with management of project confidentiality. The report will also include the identification of key measures which can be applied to develop a new approach to communication. At the end of Part-A, the benefits of this new communication approach will be discussed for consumers. Part-B will include a Gantt Chart to demonstrate the project planning. Part-C will be a discussion about the budget of product development.
PART-A
Background of the Project
This food processing project will be focused on the development of an energy drink. Nowadays, people are so busy in their fast life, especially in metro cities. In this kind of environment, the stress level of people especially the youngsters is becoming high by the time. Producing an energy drink that will help to lower this stress of people will be the aim of this project. The drink will also help reduce body fat as it will be made up of all-natural ingredients and no preservatives will be added.
Mental health issues like anxiety, stress have become common in the past few years. Plus, people generally do not share these issues. This energy drink will help them to keep their mind calm and cool, release stress and anxiety. The product development that is the development of energy drink on which the project is based is aimed to satisfy the current needs of consumers regarding health and fitness. The project managers will develop this drink through this project in a way that it will get developed with minimal cost and will be sold to customers at an average price initially. The project managers, with the aim of product development, also need to develop promotional strategies to launch this drink successfully.
Project management techniques
To develop this energy drink and launch it successfully, the project manager needs to evaluate different project management techniques and pick the suitable one (Akhtar and Eniodunmo, 2021). The finalized project management technique should be the one that becomes the evidence of the quality of the project to attract investors. The following project management techniques are available among which the project manager choose one for this food processing project:
PERT
It is known as Program Evaluation and Regulation Technique. PERT falls under the Agile methodology of project management. PERT if will be applied to this food processing project, it will mainly be helpful to manage the budget and time aspect. It is because PERT allows to break down the whole project into smaller detailed tasks and then, identifies the dependency of these tasks on one another (Cheng et al, 2020). If the project manager will use this technique, a PERT chart will need to be defined and represented to every member of the project team. The PERT chart includes all the activities with an allotted duration to the same.
Figure 1: Program Evaluation and Review Technique
Source: Rajpara 2021
This project technique is mainly useful for complex and large projects which involve a large number of activities and tasks. The project involves mostly non-routine tasks that can be managed well with the PERT technique of project management.
PMBOK
It is also known as PMI which is a project management institute. This project management technique is named on the basis of the institute name. PMI or PMBOK is a non-profit organization that has developed this technique in which six stages of project management have been defined. PMBOK- the project management body of knowledge has defined the six phases of project management as a whole technique for managing the projects (Frederico 2021). The categorization of a project to manage it well should be into 5 areas according to this technique. These areas/phases include initiation, the definition of the project, its designing phase, the project development, implementation of the same, and closing phase of the project which also includes follow-up.
Figure 2: Project Management according to PMBOK Technique
Source: Rajpara 2021
PMBOK technique of project management can be used for any type and size of the project. It is because every project goes through the stages defined above. If the project manager of this food processing project will choose to use the PMBOK technique to develop the energy drink, it will be helpful to share the same vision with the whole project team and the shareholders as well.
Waterfall
This is a classic technique of project management that ensures effective planning of the project and the implementation of the basics of project management. If the project manager will apple Waterfall for developing the energy drink and to manage this whole food processing project, a sequence of activities will need to be set. The waterfall technique does not allow scope for many changes as it defines a systematic flow of project activities (Nurdiansyah and Wijayanto, 2018). This technique helps to plan the whole project lifecycle step-by-step. With this technique, the project manager will be able to show the progress of the development of the energy drink consistently.
Figure 3: Waterfall project management technique
Source:Rajpara 2021
This project management technique is most suitable for projects which need to be carefully planned and executed. Mainly, the projects with less clarity need the application of the Waterfall technique to manage it. To apply this technique, proper planning is required and closure of every stage is a must.
After evaluation of the above-discussed technique, it can be said that the PMBOK technique will be best suited for this food processing project. The project manager will use the phases of project management given by PMI for product development i.e., the development of energy drinks.
Steps can be taken to improve the term-to-market of Energy Drink
Marketing of the Energy Drink
The energy drink will be mainly produced and launched through this project in the market of UK. The targeted customers for this energy drink will be the age group of 15 to 35 within the United Kingdom. The project manager has taken a crucial step of creating a marketing mix of this product- the energy drink to ensure clarity over this area (Sudari et al, 2019).
Product- It is the energy drink that will be developed through the project with an aim to serve the customers engaged in a highly busy routine. The drink will be made up of all-natural ingredients and will help reduce weight, release stress, and keep the mind cool. The drink will be produced and available in three different flavors initially.
Price- For each drink, the price initially will be kept as 6 euros for a half-liter bottle and 12 euros for a one-liter bottle. The combos of drinks will also be created and discounts will be given to consumers. Like, a combo of three one-liter bottles of three different flavors will be priced at 30 euros.
Place- The drink will be mainly marketed and launched within the United Kingdom. The people of the UK who fall under the age group of 15 to 35 will be targeted to sell the drink.
Promotion- For promoting the energy drink or for its marketing, different strategies will be used. These include advertising through offline and online mediums including social media channels. Other marketing and promotional strategies will be used like direct marketing in which the sellers go to the doorsteps of people and promote this drink (Zia 2017). To promote the energy drink more, discounts and coupons may also be used to attract customers. Deciding the promotional strategy will be one of the main aspects of marketing.
Launch of the Energy Drink
Once the drink will be promoted well, the step to launch it will need to be taken. The drink will be launched after one month of continuous promotion and marketing. On the launch day, the first 50 customers will get free energy drink bottles. These free drinks will be given on a basis first come first serve basis.
Key steps to ensure quality in the management of this project
As this is a food processing project, for the development of an energy drink which will remain unique within the market, the project manager will need to ensure producing a high-quality energy drink (Akhmetova and Suleimenova, 2018). To ensure quality while managing this project, the project manager will need to take the following steps:
Define quality and its importance- First of all, quality will need to be defined clearly to all the project team members who are engaged in the development of energy drinks. For this, quality standards need to be defined by the project managers and everyone should be aware of it. With the quality standards, the importance of maintaining quality will also be defined to the team members by the project manager.
Commitment to Quality- The project manager needs to ensure that everyone engaged in the production and development of this energy drink will be committed to quality standards throughout the project. Successful quality management can be measured with a commitment to quality throughout the process of product development.
Balance- The project manager needs to ensure maintaining a balance between fulfilling the project requirement and management of the quality of the product. It means that project requirements need to be fulfilled well without compromising on product quality.
Assurance- Quality assurance should be consistently performed by the project manager to maintain the high standards of quality set initially. Assuring that the project team is fully committed to the decided quality standards is not a one-time task, it needs to be done consistently. In the process of quality assurance, the project manager is supposed to compare the set quality standards with the actual quality of the product.
Quality control- If a gap is identified within the set standards and actual product quality, the manager needs to take quick actions to fill this gap and control the quality of energy drinks (Dooley et al, 2018). Quality control ultimately remains in the hands of the quality check manager of the project.
Lessons- In the end phase of the project i.e., closure and follow-up, the project manager should analyze lessons learned regarding quality management. The manager needs to ensure that if there have been any mistakes done, these would not be repeated in further projects.
Management of this project to ensure confidentiality
To ensure confidentiality throughout the process of this food processing project, the project manager will need to focus on the following elements:
Data Acquisition- It is required to be effectively decided by the project manager that data will need to acquire from all sources. The project manager needs to avoid data acquisition from sources that are not trustworthy (Woodhouse et al, 2018).
Data Access- It needs to be carefully planned that who all will have access to information and data of this food processing project. It is because giving access to just one wrong person may create big issues for the company. Access needs to be granted to only those who are trusted and have high authority like the project stakeholders.
Encryption of Files- The files which are stored and managed within the system will need to be encrypted (Deepa and Pandiaraja, 2021). It means that the data will be rendered in a way that it will be readable to only those who will have access to keys or passwords.
Physical data security- The data which will be managed offline, in the paper records would need to be kept in lockers. Any sensitive documents will not need to be kept outside in the accessibility of everyone.
Follow confidentiality laws- The regulations and laws within the UK regarding data privacy and confidentiality in project management will need to be adhered to by the project manager.
Key measures and tactics to implement new communication approach
An approach will be developed by the project manager to reduce the communication problems within this food processing project. There are many measures available to reduce communication issues. Among various options, one effective and relevant approach needs to be implemented by the project manager.
For this project, the new approach for communication will be RACI charts. It refers to being responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (Suhanda and Pratami, 2021). This approach will allow the project team members to become more responsible towards their tasks to develop the product- the energy drink. Also, this will help to make the team members more accountable for their project responsibilities. The approach will be helpful to consult the project relevant information better and to make more effective decisions. This approach will also be significant to keep everyone informed regarding project decisions. Applying RACI in this food processing project will not just help to make communication better but will also be helpful in reducing the elements hindering communication. Many unnecessary elements need to be cut out to reduce communication problems within the team members and with external parties as well like consumers, investors, etc. A new approach like RACI will help do so.
Benefits consumers will get from the application of a new communication approach
The new approach that is RACI discussed above will help to provide clarity and direction to the customers regarding the project mainly about product development. When the team members will have clarity regarding their responsibilities and roles, they will be able to deliver the product as per consumer expectations
It will help to make the consumers develop more trust in the project manager and their team members. When the project team will communicate all information to consumers with transparency, it will help the consumers to automatically build up their trust
It will be beneficial for the consumers to have answers to their queries regarding the project. As the communication will become clearer from the project team, it will be helpful for the consumers to ask any query related to the energy drink and have quick answers. Questions can be regarding the launch date, the price, etc.
PART B- Project Planning
Gantt Chart
The timeline for the whole process of launching the energy drink is 20 months long. The final product would have to undergo various processes as listed above. The market research would take about 2 months wherein surveys of potential users would be taken and trends would be determined. Based on the market research, product development would be done. This would take 3 months and process & capacity design would take 3 months. After this, the setting up the supply chain for raw material and services related to the energy drink would take about 5 months of time as this requires procurement which is quite time-consuming. Job design and human resource would take 3 months and finally the product launch and marketing would take 2 months.
PART C- Budget Creation
Figure 1: Budget
Source: By Author 2021
A budget of a total of 50,000 euros will be required to complete the production of energy drinks successfully. In the first phase of project management i.e., initiation, the manager will require 2000 euros for planning the activities. Also, a project charter will be required in which the project manager will list every minor detail relevant to the project including project objectives, scope, stakeholders, available resources, identified risks, milestones, risk mitigation strategies, and so on. The second phase i.e., projectdefinition in which the project manager will conduct meetings with the stakeholders to plan further things in which venue and caterings will be finalized (Nguyen, Nguyen, and Pham, 2019). This is why there is a requisite of 1000 euros in the third phase of this food processing project. In the designingphase, the project manager will be needed 16000 euros for designing a product in which the packaging, labeling, logo, and tagline will be decided. The development phase is also essential because the project manager will be focused on many activities before implementing the project. These activities include market research, product development, setting the price of a product, and so on. So, the manager will be needed 21500 euros to manage the same. Execution, Monitoring and controlling, and moving to the production are included in the phase of project implementation which will be required 9000 euros. At this stage, promotional strategies will be used by the manager for the promotion of the product. The last stage is related to closing and follow-up in which the project manager will be needed only 500 euros for preparing the closing documents of the project.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the report that the food processing project will be focused upon the development of the energy drink. The report has identified that the available project management techniques include PERT, PMBOK, and waterfall among which the project manager has chosen the PMBOK technique to manage this food processing project. In regards to the marketing aspect of this project, the manager has developed the marketing mix and decided on the launch of the product as well. Regarding quality management, it has been identified that seven major steps need to be followed including quality control. To ensure confidentiality, it has been identified that the project manager needs to encrypt the files, follow confidentiality, manage data access, etc. It has also been identified that the RACI approach will be needed to get implemented for reducing communication issues. In regards to budget, it has been identified that 50,000 euros will be the total budget to develop and launch the energy drink.
References
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