Azhar Zainal | Master Of Innovation and Engineering Design |

Global Design
PROJECT MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY

1. Introduction
This report will carry out a case study on behind the success of this project that where
there the report aims to analyze Efficient Centralized Alarm Monitoring System
(ECAMs) project, with the aim to learn from the reasons for weaknesses. An analysis of
project activities that are considered to identify the factors of failure causes and
consequences from the impact underestimate the complexity of the project
This analysis is seen projects of both project management and project perspective.
The project ECAMs said to be all-round disaster colossal failure cost overruns, schedule
delays, poor quality of products, inability to meet the expectations of stakeholders and so
on.
For provide the best service to customers, Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) must make
sure every service a provided always be in good condition, in order to achieve these goals
my workplace TM Research and Development (R&D) has developed a system (Figure 1)
that will monitor and give alert any problems occurring in the system before they disrupt
system directly to customers, such as controlling temperature, water levels and power
issues.

Figure 1
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2. BACKGROUNDS
Power failures are the critical causes of TMs equipment failure & service
interruptions. In year 2007, it is estimated that 73% of Network Access breakdown were
due to power failure.
TM is also facing with other issues such as:1. No proper Inventory System to capture information on rectifiers deployed in TM.
2. Multiple rectifier brands & models Thus costly to integrate and manage.
3. No integration with TMs other sub system, thus it will take longer time to
troubleshoot in the event of a network problem.
For view of the problem faced by TM, TM R&D are working in offering a solution
named Efficient Centralized Alarm Monitoring System (ECAMs) to TM. The solution
offered is a combination of Network Management System (NMS) and Remote Terminal
Unit (RTU) devices.
This ECAMs will be an advanced solution designed and customized to meet the
current and future needs of TM in term of managing and monitoring all TM Accesss
Power-Related Alarm in TMs Exchanges, Hill Stations, FTTS and FTTO. The ECAMs
architecture of project implementation is shown below.

Figure 2: Network Architecture for ECAMs

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The deliverables for ECAMs shall include:

Development, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of the centralized

management system called ECAMs.

Development, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of

1. Remote Terminal Units
2. Extended Alarm Sensory Terminal

This ECAMs project is one of a successful research project to be commercialize

because the system is able to give out information early any problems in the TM system
to the maintenance team before getting complaints from customers and is able to solve
any problem quickly. However behind the success of this ECAMs project, this project has
run into numerous problems and obstacles such as project completion delays, budget
more than the target. A project that has not delivered the required/expected quality, with
the available resources, on time, within budget and achieved expected benefits has failed.
However, that a project is not completed within budget and time does not make it a failed
project. A project can still be a success even with the failing of the project management if
it can deliver its long term objectives. This project in terms of profitability to the
TMR&D is was not as what is expected in shorter time but helping to overcome the
problem of the system and provide the best service to customers it's very big impact on
the overall business TM.

3. DISCUSSION ON ISSUES AND FAILURE

One of the main various problems were caused some weaknesses such as project
management lack of proper planning like the tight time line (Figure 3a )that was
obviously unachievable even though all parties know this system just on the level
research proof of concept and in within the trial process . Also the tight schedule could
not allow the system to be adequately tested and poor procurement management system
although on small purchases require considerable long time process for approval. Ignored

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the bids of professionals who indicated that the monitoring system could not be
completed within the remaining research project duration. Due to the timeline had to be
changed and make the time for deliverable of the project to too tight and to be extended.
(Figure 3b).

Figure 3a

Figure 3b

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The installation process of this project there is also the problem of delay in completion of
projects such as workers who do not qualified in technical terms with the need to comply
and requirement with the Occupational Safety and Health Standards (OSHA) such as
Confined space permit, the conditions that must exist in space permit to allow entry and
to ensure that workers involved with the entry-permit required confined space can safely
enter and work in space in a safe condition. This requirement is for sensor installation
process in place to be monitored. This situation causes the installation process had to be
suspended and increased the cost for the process of providing training to workers and are
also looking for qualified workers back. Technical issues give rise to uncertainty in
development new system projects like ECAMs, especially those utilising innovative
technology and practices using technology. This is because technology and its use are
rapidly changing, and a technical or competitive mistake can produce severe financial
losses.
Underestimate the complexity of the project and to change strategy and system design
projects that are implemented during the manufacturing and assembly process that
involves several parts of electrical, mechanical and software failures are due to lack of
scope change control which lead to the introduction of new systems such as automatic
detection of theft system which is not part of the initial plan. The original system design
itself is very complex and prone to error. Lack of proper planning such a tight timeline
that clearly unachievable but stubbornness inherent in even with the new additions to the
scope and made a number of parties involved in the development of the system was that it
could not be achieved. Inefficient or less communications management. No
communication control, imagine a researcher can change components without discussing
it with project supervisor even though it is part of the project. Components are changed
finally arrived later than they should have. No backup system that will be an alternative.

4. LESSON LEARNT
4.1 Change Control
Changes are a constant in projects. Therefore project teams must be ready for
them to avoid surprises. However it is very important to examine other potential risks

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that can arise if changes are approved before approving such changes. Changes that
occur at engineering stage of a project only affect engineering cost. The later in a
project a scope change occurs the more impact in terms of both cost and potential
schedule delay (Harding, 2012).
A well-thought out project schedule allows time for items such as, permitting,
safety reviews, detailed design, tie-ins, bidding cycles, equipment deliveries,
construction durations, and so on (Harding, 2012). It also has to be logically
sequenced to assure that tasks that need to be completed before their successors are
completed before moving to the next task. A good project plan would have ensured
that:

The scope has been clearly shown what goes in and out of the project.
A Work Breakdown Structure prepared that would have being useful for
resource allocation and communication with project team and other

stakeholders (Maylor,2010)
A logical resource loaded schedule with critical path developed. This
would have guided to construct the physical structures in a logical
sequence with the monitoring system. That would have eliminated the
unnecessary costly reworks. The schedule would have also helped to
ensure that designs are completed before development and installation
starts.

4.2 Risk Management

Every project involves risks .Risks are uncertain events or conditions that,
if they occur, have positive or negative effect on project objectives
(PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, Glossary pg. 373.).Planned and systematically
adopted risk management procedure is essential in keeping a project on time and
within budget with all requirements fulfilled The objective of risk management is
to increase the probability and impact of positive events and or decrease the
probability of impact of negative events (PMI, 2013).

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The developer should have carried out a risk management exercise at the
beginning of the project to identify potential risks and put together plans on how
these risks would be managed .This would have captured risks like electrical
failure and the consequent delivery and installation of filters and so on. The
external sources that need to be detected and considered in this project are
depicted in Figure4. The sources of complexity for this project are based in the
project environment. Many social, political and economic issues in both the
projects internal and external environment, in addition to technology, need to be
considered.

Figure 4: complexity model

4.3 Communication Management
Proper communication is vital to the success of a project (Kerzner, 2009).
Communication is an exchange of information. A sure-fire way for a project to
fail is by lack of Communication (Harding, 2012). Communication on a large
project can be so complex. We should have set up a communication matrix to
establish the required communications channels and assure that nothing is missed.
There should have being consistent project meetings, meetings with
custodians addressing progress, issues, risks and defining way forward and so on.

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4.4 Leadership and Skills

Achieving projects success depends on people as people are the most critical
project management resource. Project leaders are decision makers and can overcome
project potential change thereby contributing significantly to project success. A good
and skilled leadership should have been established to be able to handle even political
issues that affected the project.
4.5 Controlling cost
Cost is the universal and most highly visible performance metric for indicating
project success. Project Manager should have established project budget and had a
system for monitoring and controlling cost on the project.
Having accurate project estimates and a robust project budget is necessary to
deliver within the project budget. Both Estimating Costs and Determining Budget are
project planning processes. Without keeping an eye on the actual costs while the
project is being implemented, the project will most likely never be delivered onbudget. (PMBOK)

4.6 Project planning

All projects need a plan. Clearly articulated and documented project plans are an
important part of project management. They provide a clear statement of project
objectives to guide implementation, give a baseline scope, as well as the, cost and
schedule against which to assess project achievement. The plan is usually the key
document supporting the decision by management to proceed with the project. The
contents of a project plan will vary according to the scale, complexity and risk of the
project. In large projects, there may be justification for breaking the plan into several

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component plans, for example individual plans for managing risk, or realising identified
benefits.
Project plans rely on consideration of project structure, schedule, costs and risks. The
plan should, of course, also set out the research methodology.
There are many techniques for planning projects. The responsibility of organisations is to
support effective planning through access to appropriate technologies; ensure staff have
been trained in how to plan projects and encourage a risk management culture.
Developing effective project plans requires consideration of:

How will the work be done this is usually done by developing a Work

Breakdown Structure
What risks threaten the projects success
What resources are required - human and financial - for the project to have a

chance of meeting its goals

how long will the project take, and in what order should the tasks be completed
The research question to be answered or technology to be developed. This will
naturally vary greatly depending on the project
The team working on the complex project needs to have a full range of technical

skills to allow them to design, develop, implement and evaluate the system that is
created. When technology issues arise, the project team needs to be adaptable enough
to prioritize tasks and manage their own time to complete the project to the original
time and financial budget where this is appropriate. This may be undertaken by
having a clear framework that is specific to the project. Overall, the technical issues
must not just remain within the technical department, but must be understood and
shared across the organization and where required. This would help ensure that
unreasonable demands are not put upon the technical team by the departments
involved with technical design and implementation, such as the marketing team
demanding certain functionality that is unrealistic and infeasible to produce.

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5 Conclusion
Notwithstanding the unique environment in R&D organisations, research projects can
benefit from the use of standard project management techniques. In a rapidly changing
environment, with diverse issues and projects, project management can support the
achievement of project and organisational goals, as well as give greater assurance to
stakeholders that resources are effectively managed. The importance point to be emphasis
is:

Set goals and do not underestimate the complexity of the project

A colossal lack of planning that resulted to numerous changes in strategy
A clearly unachievable excessive schedule pressure from various stakeholders
Making firm commitments in the face of eminent insurmountable risks and

uncertainties
Identify the resources needed
Good Communication
Overcome Poor designs
Absence of risks management
Failure to understand the impact changes might have on the project
Ensure accountability for results and performance
Focus on final benefits to be achieved from research.

It is important to note that there will be some aspects of R&D, such as ongoing
monitoring of trends or corporate activities supporting research that would not benefit
from being defined and managed as a project. Each organisation will need to carefully
delineate such activities. It is very ambiguous trying to establish the success or failure of
a project due to the unclear way project success can be measured because different people
have different opinions about project success or failure. Case study from the previous
project can be the best lesson learn for next project to be a success.

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References
1. Belassi, W. & Tukel, O. I. (1996). A new framework for determining critical
success/failure factors in projects International Journal of Project Management.
14(3). 141-151.
2. Hallgren, M & Wilson, T. (2007). The nature and management of cirses in
construction projects: Projects-as-practice observations. International Journal of
Project Management. 26(2008), 830-838.
3. Harding, J. (2012). Avoiding Project Failures. Chemical Engineering. 2012
4. Kerzner, H., (2001). Project management: A systems approach to planning,
scheduling, and controlling (7th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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5. Atila Ertas & Jesse C. Johnes (1996).The Engineering Design Process: Managing
Design Process. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
6. Maylor, H, 2010. (4th ed). Project Management. Prentice Hall pub.
7. Meyer, A. D.; Loch, C. and Pich, M. 2001. Uncertainty and Project Management.
Beyond the critical path mentality. Instead R&D
8. PMI, 2013. PMBOK 5th ed. PMI Pub

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