TIME, COST AND SCOPE MANAGEMENT 1

Unit 4 – Individual Project: Project Time, Cost and Scope Management

Darlenzo Hines

Colorado Technical University

PM610: Project Planning, Execution and Closure

Dr. Manuel Duarte

10/16/2022
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Contents
Assignment Guidelines..................................................................................................................3
Memorandum...............................................................................................................................4
Things to be taken into account before approving or objecting the vendor proposal?................4
The decision’s impact on the entire project?...............................................................................5
The kind of stakeholders to be incorporated in the process of decision-making.........................6
Factors that stakeholders must discuss and agree upon..............................................................6
Recommendation ............................................................................................................................7
References.......................................................................................................................................8
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Assignment Guidelines

What do you need to consider before accepting or denying the vendor proposal? Explain.

How would your decision affect the overall project?

 Consider budget, schedule, and resources.

What stakeholders would need to be involved in this decision-making process? Why?

What important factors would need to be discussed and agreed upon by the various stakeholders

involved in the project? Explain.

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IRTC Manufacturing Enterprises

Memorandum

To: Manuel Duarte

From: Darlenzo Hines
Date: 10/15/2022
Subject: Software Add-On

This memo will discuss the $25,000 software add-on that take four more
additional weeks to implement and facilitate the integration of the present
customer service system with the functions of the customer service billing system.
It will describe the factors that must be taken into account before approving or
objecting the vendor proposal and how the chosen course of action would impact
the project as a whole. Last but not least, it will clarify the critical issues that need
to be addressed and decided by the project's stakeholders and the stakeholders
who would advisable to be incorporated in the decision-making process, as well
as the reasons behind it.

Things to be taken into account before approving or objecting the vendor

proposal?

The project budget should be taken into account when determining if to accept or
reject the vendor bid. This project has a $100,000 budget, so in order to approve
the proposal without asking the financial decision-makers of the project for more
money, the project needs to be drifting toward a $75,000 total cost. The proposal
will additionally need to be assessed against the typical project approval criteria
because it is not a part of the main project. The vendor's comprehension of our
needs is another item to take into account. Is the software add-on actually assist
the company and deliver a great experience accountable for the extra money and
time, suggesting that the vendor recognizes our needs, perhaps greater than we
actually do, or did the vendor regarded or considered this idea in to gain more
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money from our company? I think the latter, based on our working relationship
with the provider.

The schedule impact of executing the software add-on is another aspect of

business to take into account. When you consider that you could be adding up to
25% additional time to the timetable, adding four weeks is not a little amount of
time. The extra time can result in delays in other areas of the company, which
would harm the experience of the customer. These dangers would need to be
assessed and compared to not buying the add-on. According to what I understand
about the proposal proposed by the vendor, it appears that the vendor will be
handling the majority of the work necessary to make this software add-on work
for us. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that they will need a member of our team to
be readily available to them, as well as work alongside them while the work is
being done. It's also important to make consideration on who will assist the seller.
The successful project completion definition will need to be explained for all
stakeholders because adding the software add-on alters it.

The decision’s impact on the entire project?

The project won't be affected in case the decision is made not to buy the software
add-on, but the work that the software would have done will still need to be done
eventually in a different way. The project's scope will alter if the software add-on
is acquired. "Changes in scope affect the organization's cash flow requirements by
requiring more or less resources, which may also have an impact on other
projects." (Larson, 2020) The installation of the add-on does not change the
project's goal, but it may have an adverse effect on employee morale, particularly
if the choice is made after the project has already started. To account for the cost
of the software, the budget will need to be adjusted in some way. The change
could involve adding $25,000 to the existing budget, making adjustments to the
current budget lowers the required cash, or combining the two processes to come
up with a new budget satisfying the requirements of the new perimeters of the
project. The project will need resources for an additional four weeks if it is
extended by that amount of time. People working on the project might spend more
time away from their primary responsibilities, the space being used for the project
won't be available for other uses, and they probably won't be willing to work on
undertake a different project during this period.

The kind of stakeholders to be incorporated in the process of decision-

making
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The project sponsor mandated to offer support and resources for the project,
would be the first of many stakeholders who will require to be included in the
decision-making process. The decision will also require input from the billing
department’s directors and customer service. To help secure the resources
required for this particular project in its revised form, the project sponsor must be
involved. The sponsor, a crucial project ally, exerts influence to secure project
approval. The billing department’s directors, along with the customer service
assist in resolving or lowering technical issues and offer insightful technical
advice. Their approval of project work that has been completed may be crucial for
in-house projects. They can as well reduce any disruptions that may result from
the project within their own departments. To ensure that the team members
chosen are readily available or willing for the entirety of the project section for
which they will be required, a representative from the human resources is another
stakeholder to be considered. The extra four weeks can conflict with another
concurrent project in which one or more members of the team are required for that
assignment. I’m a stakeholder in the decision as the project manager, as shown
by the fact that I evaluated the proposal and submitted this memo. Being the
project manager, I might also have a say in who is chosen to work with the
vendor's software add-on team.

Factors that stakeholders must discuss and agree upon

The concerned parties must talk about the extra value of the software add-on
relative to the expense and lengthening of the project. We might not be in a
position to buy the add-on right now if the project involves a crucial or time-
sensitive component. It should also be highlighted the advantage of not needing
internal staff to handle the data transfer or movement from the present customer
service system to the customer service function of the new billing system. Our
team members can finish other assignments if they aren't hindered by this part of
the job. It's also important to talk about the added risk brought on by the software
add-on. Increased risk can make project team members more anxious and
stressed, and it can also place more demands on the team leader(s) in terms of
managing human resources. The team members required to help the
vendor/supplier with the proposed software add-on must be available, which is
another human capital management issue that needs to be addressed.
Recommendation

I advise against investing the project's $100,000 budget in the software add-on.
Being a significant investment (software add-on), it would be difficult to pay and
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would not easily fit into the budget. Although the software add-on offers
advantages, we did not seek it in the initial or first request for proposals,
suggesting that we already had a plan to address it. We can continue with the plan
and obtain the long-awaited result just as well. Living by the reality that this
would add four more weeks to the project prevents it from purchasers. That
amount of extra time is good for our systems to be in transition and enough time
for things to go unexpected and have a bad effect on the project. We would be
giving non-workers accessibility to the customers' profiles and additional
information if we let the vendor manage the connection of the current customer
service with the functions or features of the new billing system. To protect us, our
clients, and the vendor, extra paperwork, such a non-disclosure agreement, would
need to be executed before doing this. In this case, the disadvantages, in my
opinion, exceed the advantages.
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References

Larson, E. W. (2020). Project Management: The Managerial Process (8th Edition).

McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US).

https://coloradotech.vitalsource.com/books/9781260736205

Project Management Institute (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

(PMBOK® Guide)–Sixth Edition (6th Edition). Independent Publishers Group (Chicago

Review Press). https://coloradotech.vitalsource.com/books/9781628253900

Rosenberg, M. (2016). Marc My Words: Evaluating Vendor Proposals. Learning Solutions.

https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/2135/marc-my-words-evaluating-vendor-

proposals