Project Management Assignment

Key drivers influencing digital workplace transformation

Sunshine Holdings PLC

Section A

1
Table of Contents
Section A..............................................................................................................................................3
A1. Organization Profile.....................................................................................................................3
A2. Project Life Cycle and Its Importance........................................................................................4
A3. Factors to be considered in compiling Project Management Plan............................................7
A4. Research methods and Strategies................................................................................................8
Section B............................................................................................................................................11
B1. Project Management Plan..........................................................................................................11
B2. Problem Scenario........................................................................................................................12
B3. Elements of Project Management Plan.....................................................................................13
B3.1 Aim of Project........................................................................................................................13
B3.2 Objectives of Project..............................................................................................................13
B3.3 Project Deliverables................................................................................................................15
B3.4 Quality of the project..............................................................................................................15
B3.5 Risks of the project.................................................................................................................16
B3.6 Communication Plan..............................................................................................................17
B3.7 Research method......................................................................................................................18
B4. Objectives and timeframe..........................................................................................................18
B5. Work Breakdown Structure......................................................................................................19
B6. Gantt chart..................................................................................................................................24
B7. Results of the project..................................................................................................................26
B8. Conclusion and Recommendations...........................................................................................27
B9. Evaluation of the Project Management process.......................................................................29
B9.1 Introduction to the analysis.....................................................................................................29
B9.2 Project Evaluation Process......................................................................................................30
B9.3 Evaluation of the Project Management Method....................................................................33
B9.4 Evaluation of Project Objective ‘Digital transformation’.....................................................34
B9.5 Analysis and Evaluation...........................................................................................................35
B9.6 Problems encountered and actions taken...............................................................................38
B9.7 Lessons Learned.......................................................................................................................40
B9.8 Performance as the Project Manager......................................................................................41
B9.9 Conclusion for the Evaluation.................................................................................................42
References..........................................................................................................................................43

2
Section A

A1. Organization Profile

Sunshine Holdings PLC operated in Healthcare, consumer goods, agribusiness, and

renewable energy sectors in Sri Lanka. The organization was set up in 1978 and listed on the
Colombo Stock Exchange in 1983. The Vision of the Organization is ‘To be the most
admired conglomerate in Sri Lanka’ and the Mission of the Organization is ‘Growing our
enterprises to be industry leaders. (www.cse.lk, 2022)

Sunshine Holdings PLC must properly align its objectives and strategies to achieve its vision.
One of its strategies is implementing a digital platform and digital transformation across the
business sectors. Before the digital transformation, the company’s data was scattered over
twenty systems. With poor technology and infrastructure, employees could not provide their
optimum productivity to the company. They spend many hours building reports in Excel to
report day-to-day activities. (www.sunshineholdings.lk, 2022)

To solve these problems, Sunshine Holdings decided to do digital transformation by

migrating to Microsoft Azura and consolidating all data and information of different business
sectors it owned.

3
A2. Project Life Cycle and Its Importance

The Project Management Institute created the Project Life Cycle. It helps managers to
manage projects efficiently and effectively. The Project life cycle brings more cohesion to
the project and it collects every employee’s contribution to the project. The Project Life
Cycle has five phases. Each of these phases contains interrelated processes. (Brown, 2022)

The Project Life Cycle

1. Initiating Phase

Initiating phase describes the vision and documents of the project to get secure approvals
from sanctioning stakeholders. There are two processes in the initiating phase; the project
charter and the stakeholder register. (Usmani, 2022)

The project charter expresses its goals and resource requirements in detail. The project
charter includes key elements of the business case, project scope, deliverables, objectives,
resource requirements, milestone plan, time frame, cost, and risks. The stakeholder register is
the document that contains details of project stakeholders. A stakeholder might be a person,
an organization, or a group that affected or affected by the project directly or indirectly.

The project-initiating process deliverables ensure successful planning. Risks are initially
identified in this stage, and constraint recognition happens. Time management, quality, and
accuracy are certified by proper planning.

4
Creativity and hampered thinking may be destroyed when focusing on time management and
setting deadlines. Initiating a project is time-consuming and creates high costs for the
organization.

2. Planning Phase

In this phase, the project will be planned according to the direction, how to achieve goals and
objectives, when achieve, and define results evaluating criteria. Work delegation through the
team will happen in this stage. The plan includes project scope, work breakdown structure,

resource plan, and budget estimation.

The proper planning stage will be advantageous of given adequate attention to project
objectives and minimizing uncertainties. When the business environment is subject to change
continuously, uncertainties are inherited within it. Therefore, the planning phase is
contributed to reducing risks and cost control in the rest of the project period. The planning
phase also contributed to better utilization of project resources and proper delegation among
tasks.

In contrast, the planning process lacks reliable data, which may be time-consuming.
Gathering information, testing, and other tasks are very expensive.

3. Execution Phase

The project plan becomes into action in this phase. In the execution phase, the budget is spent
and product delivery happens. Team development, stakeholder engagement, quality
assurance, client management, and efficient communication are important parts of the
execution phase.

The execution phase delivers the expected deliverables. The execution phase will control and
record the time and cost incurred for the product creation. And it is valuable for the current
project and future planning process. Product quality is the central aspect of this stage.

5
Delivery of a risk-free, quality product will be happening in this phase. Proper
communication is required to succeed at this stage.

Time and costs are consumed in this stage. There are enormous risks in changing the
environment, losing desired materials, and controlling the project team.

4. Monitoring and Controlling Phase

In the Monitoring phase, the project manager monitors and evaluates the plan and the product
progress. The main objective of the evaluation is to ensure the proper usage of resources and
time allocations. If there are any loopholes in the plan execution, it is the responsibility of the
Project Manager to take corrective actions.

The effective monitoring phase will provide massive data for the evaluation of the project
scope and its deliverable's success. It helps to make future decisions and proper planning.
Continuous monitoring and planning ensure quality deliverables and proper completion of
the project. Monitoring will guide future projects and give learning for the future.

Ongoing evaluation could be disadvantageous by interrupting the project staff. The

monitoring and evaluation process is a luxury and lacks stakeholder impact.

5. Project Closure

This is called as follow-up phase. During this phase, the final product will be distributed and
delivered. All activities related to the project are enclosed. The closure is not for successful
completion. Sometimes project closures happen due to failure.

In the project colusere meeting, the management can capture invaluable information about
lessons learned during the project commencing. In a closure meeting, the communication
could be retrieved. It enhances the quality of project deliverables. Also, the management
could understand the project's risks and minimize possibilities.

6
Project closure will disadvantage the organization when the management can't complete the
project with the desired outcome. Then the losses, penalties, and risks will be high. Also, the
reputation of the organization will be compromised.

A3. Factors to be considered in compiling Project Management Plan

The critical factor for compiling a project management plan is the scope of the project. It is a
comprehensive outline of all appearances of the project from activities, stakeholders,
timeline, assumptions, deliverables, and resources to project limitations. All of this important
information will be captured in the scoping statement. It is a primary document of project
planning, which provide a clear understanding of project operations. The Project statement
includes a project statement of Work (Sow), constraints, scope exclusions, milestones,
project deliverable, acceptance criteria, and final approval.

Project deliverables are an element of the project scope. Project deliverables are the results of
the objective work completion of the project. Those could be internal or external. The
external deliverables focused on the client and could earn revenue. The project manager must
oversee the deliverables.

Quality is essential in planning and executing a project management plan. To ensure the
quality of the final product, there is a quality management plan. The quality management
plan gives insights to the project manager and the team for the proper delivery of the final
products. Quality is vital in project management and it ensures quality throughout the project
life cycle.

Risk is inevitable for any project or task. Due to the risk inclusiveness, the project
management plan includes a risk management plan too. The risk management plan includes
possible risks of the project, how to mitigate risks, and the responsibilities of team members.

Sharing ideas and decisions between members of the project is referred to as communication.
Each team member needs a proper idea of project objectives. The project manager
communicates with team members as well as top management about the project plan and
results. They make a communication plan for this requirement.

7
Resources could be equipment, labor, finances, and anything supportive for managing the
project and making the final product.

A4. Research methods and Strategies

Research methods or strategies are systematic research processes to solve a problem. There is
a range of research methods, and they are categorized as qualitative research methods and
quantitative research methods.

Researchers used observations, surveys, interviews, focus groups, experiments, secondary

data analysis, and a combination of all the above methods to gather data and information.

- Interviews

These can be structured, semi-structured, or unstructured in-depth sessions with the

researcher and a participant. Interviews are qualitative research methods, and they can be
structured, semi-structured, or understructure in-depth sessions with the information provider
/ participants. This could be face to face information-gathering session or a virtual session.

The interview method gives high reliability of data and validity. Interviews are time effective
method for both parties. The researcher can ask additional and adequate questions in semi-
structured and unstructured methods.

In contrast, responses are at risk of the Hawthorne effect; observer bias, recall bias, and
social desirability bias. Preparing for interviews is time-consuming, and interviewing
requires good conversational skills.

- Focus Groups

In the focus group strategy, several participants will discuss the topic or questions, and
research can be participated in or observed.

This is an efficient method since the researcher could interview multiple people
simultaneously. Cost-effective and easier to understand different views and complex topics.

8
In contrast, the researcher must be excellent conversational and have adequate leadership
skills to conduct the research. There is a higher risk of observer bias, recall bias, and social
desirability bias. Also, there is a risk of confidentiality or other ethical considerations since
multiple presences at once.

- Surveys or questionnaires

In this method, the researcher asked many participants the same question sets by providing a
written questionnaire. This is a quantitative research method that mainly deals with
numerical data. Questionnaires can be presented by printed paper, virtual paper, or telephone
conversation.

This is a very cost-effective research method, and it contacts individuals rapidly. When a
survey is done web-based, it can reach lots of people at once. Responding rate and
adaptability of respondents are high.

In contrast, the researcher needed help selecting the same group for his research. There may
be uneducated people, and educated people will respond to the research. Also, information
reliability is an inherited risk. The researcher needed a method for checking the reliability of
the information. Also, there may be risks of uncompleted data, individual errors, and wrong
understanding.

- Observations

Observation is gathering data and information by watching people and events or noting
physical characteristics in their natural settings.

The easiest method of collecting data and minimal technical knowledge required. It is the
most accessible method and more straightforward method than other methods. The work
must be conducted in the natural environment, and there are no costs of using technology or
an artificial environment. Gathered data and information are featured with high accuracy.

In disadvantage, the method needs to capture every data, and it will miss pat information. It
requires plenty of time and high traveling costs. The observer will miss out on several details
according to his focus.

- Document Analysis

9
Document analysis is a secondary data collection method. This could be a quantitative or
qualitative research method. The researcher will refer to previous authors' works and gather
the required information. Documents may be public records. Personal documents and
physical evidence

By document analysis, the researcher can obtain complete and organized data. It is a time-
saving task, and the researcher can quickly collect data. In contrast, the researcher may
receive different data than he wants, and there is no room to ask questions for further
clarification. Primary data may include the author's personal views.

10
Section B

B1. Project Management Plan

The Project Management Plan is the responsibility of the Project Manager. The main purpose
of the project management plan is to inform the instructions project team and project
stakeholders. The plan is a formal and approved document from the project sponsor. It
contains details about how to project execute, review, monitor, and control mechanisms.

The project management plan includes the scope, timing and budget of the project that are
approved by the project charter. These primary factors give a solid guild line for comparing
variances with the actual product.

A properly written project management plan had no room for misunderstanding and
miscommunication. The plan indicates the deadlines of each task and deliverables. Therefore,
the project team and related stakeholders know what tasks and results are expected from
them at any given time. If there is anything happens beyond the plan, the project manager
could identify it at once. Then the manager can take remedial actions.

11
B2. Problem Scenario

Sunshine holding operates in key sectors in the Sri Lankan market economy, mainly in the
healthcare sector and tea plantations, and consumer goods. It employs more than 2300
employees directly. The organization uses Microsoft Excel to make reports, bookkeeping,
and decision-making. Therefore, employees must work hard and use data repeatedly to
submit various kinds of reports. This situation is very difficult for employees and time-
consuming. Delays in reporting made slow decision making and lost a lot of business
opportunities. The situation may cause a reduction in revenue and organizational bottom line.
Employee retention rate became high and the organization’s IT department is keen to find a
solution to the problem.

After researching many databases and appropriate solutions, the IT department suggests top
management transform the organization into a digital platform by engaging with the
Microsoft Azura platform.

12
B3. Elements of Project Management Plan

There are several critical elements in the project management plan. Project Aim, Project
objectives, scope statement, project deliverables, Quality management plan, Risk
Management plan, and communication plan are a few of them.

B3.1 Aim of Project

The Project Aim is the results expected to achieve at the end of the project scope.
Achievement of project Aim provides an answer to the research question.

The Aim The Project aims increase shareholder wealth. The shareholder wealth represents a
collection of capital gain and interest income. To increase shareholder revenue, it should
increase organizational profits and gross revenue. To improve the revenue, there are much
more tasks to be done in the back office. Improvement of customer interactions, providing
accurate reports, make accurate and profitable decisions. With a foaming digitalize
environment within the organization, above all tasks could be fulfilled.

B3.2 Objectives of Project

Project objectives involved dividing the project aim into several small parts and making
plans to achieve them separately. There are a few objectives included in a project
management plan. The organization formulates several objectives.

1. Optimize processes

13
The optimized process is a vital factor in generating revenue. A conglomerate such as
Sunshine Holding PLC has require optimized processes. As an example in the healthcare
business, all drugs must be coded according to sequences and should manage stock levels
very carefully.

2. Achieve Competitive Advantage

Sunshine holding operates as a conglomerate in several business sectors like healthcare,

plantations, and consumer goods. In the Sri Lankan business context, there are more
multinational and conglomerate businesses competing in the same markets. Therefore, the
organization must be keen on achieving a competitive advantage over other competitors.
Factors for earning a competitive advantage are core competencies and core resources. If the
organization can optimize its systems, it can use its core resources to gain a competitive
advantage.

3. Revenue Growth

Optimized systems, on-time reports, and proper resource utilization can lead an organization
to revenue growth. Revenue growth is good for every stakeholder who wishes for the
betterment of the organization. Revenue growth increases shareholder wealth and increases
employees’ remunerations.

4. Cost Minimization

Costs are essential for any organization. Reduction of costs meant an increase in the
company’s bottom line. The proposed system will reduce the time and resources spent on
every task. The speed of task fulfillment will increase and obsolete stocks will be detected by
the system. Then the management can sell them or use them for another process as
applicable. By those means, operation costs will be reduced due to digitalization.

5. Increase Customer Satisfaction

The organization mainly operates in the consumer goods market and healthcare market. In
those two markets, the consumer is directly involved in the purchasing activity. New
technologies will help the management team understand customer behavior and the

14
frequency with which they make unexpected purchases. Employees can optimize consumer
experience through speedy service, availability of stocks, and quality products for affordable
prices. The consumer is the future of any business.

B3.3 Project Deliverables

Deliverables of the digital transformation project include the followings.

1. Group-wide Cloud-based platform – Cloud-based platform working through the

internet keeps all data and information online. It speeds up data processing and gives
real-time data to top management.
2. Provide Laptops or Tabs for field agents and estates associates – Pharmaceutical
agents must have the latest stock details and they must update real-time invoicing.
Providing devices, and cloud-based platform can enhance their efficiency.
3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Dashboard – By providing a customer
relationship dashboard to front office employees of pharmacies, the organization can
take a better picture of consumer behavior and can act on it.
4. Business Intelligence tools and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for
Management Team

B3.4 Quality of the project

Digital transformation become the top priority of any scale of contemporary business. The
transformation process will differ according to the nature of the business. The digital
transformation will eliminate the gap between the digital and physical world. It can be
applied for improving efficiency, generate new revenue streams, and provide better customer
experiences. (Rever, 2017)

15
The quality of a digital transformation project includes higher speed, frequency, reliability of
engineering products, and reliability of applications and solutions. Integration of multiple
product development codes (in devices, web, and mobile) to a base location, validating and
testing automation. It must generate reports in every check-in and have to send a report for
any failure or success.

Continuous deployment allows rollback deployment in live. Servers will allow automated
alerts on failures and performance issues.

Continuous monitoring is essential in software-based platforms. Micro servers help to

distribute applications into small parts and run them independently. Then, monitoring those
small pieces is easy.

The project is based on a private cloud; it has to be continuous monitoring. Cloud testing
includes measuring the performance and reliability of web applications. Response time
verification in peak times is essential in cloud testing.

Data security and eliminating unauthorized actions or log-ins are other quality parameters. It
should continuously monitor the security of sensitive data and the latest defense applications.
A Disaster recovery plan is also vital in software development projects. In any case of failure
or network outage and breakdowns, the security of data and information must be guaranteed.

B3.5 Risks of the project

There is several risks involved in the digital transformation project. These risks can affect
people, processes, and systems. Technological risks, cyber risks, strategy risks, forensics
risks, privacy risks, data risks, regulatory risks, and resilience risks are a few of those risks
that could impact to the organization. (Brown, 2022)

There might be data loss happens due to technical failures or using obsolete technologies.
This risk can affect systems and employees badly. Information security attacks, data loss,
service unavailability, password theft, capacity management failures, poor data quality,
infrastructure risks, lack of innovation facilities, and integration failures are counted under

16
technological risks. Continuously monitoring security threats, using anti-virus, anti-spy
protection, and firewalls, updating software regularly, securing physical equipment, and
using data backups can mitigate technology risks.

Cyber risks are identified as any risk involved with the failure of information technology
systems that make a financial loss for the organization. Phishing, Malware, Ransomware, and
Distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS) are the most common cyber attacks. These
cyber-attacks caused data loss, access prevention, and ultimately financial losses. To prevent
cyber risks, take stock count of valuable digital assets, analyze past cyber threats and find
solutions, and make cybersecurity friendly culture in the organization.

B3.6 Communication Plan

A Communication plan was included in the project’s initial planning process. It is required
to provide information to project stakeholders. The project manager decides the required
information and delivery channels. The project manager will define the messages to be
conveyed to stakeholders and choose the method of communicating via in-person meetings,
phone calls, or letters.

In starting phase communication plan includes explanations of the digital transformation

strategy, starting events and approaches, risk assessment plan, stakeholders’ expectations,
and periodical briefings. Those communications are mostly channeled to responsibility
leaders, project sponsors, and the project management team.

Roadmap plans, work assignments, status discussion, issues and problems discussion,
conflicting issues, risk realization, and mitigation actions will be communicated during the
project commencement to the internal target audience and the project management team.
Press releases and newspaper interviews will be arranged for external audiences.

Project review reports, project milestone reports, lessons learned, team collaboration, and
closure reports will be communicated in the closure stage of the project to the project team
members, decision-makers and interested parties.

17
B3.7 Research method

The project management method used by Sunshine holding is Scrum Agile method. Scrum is
a branch of the Agile project management method. The Scrum method develops software
solutions based on iterative and incremental processes. The project methodology is flexible,
speedy, adjustable, and effective and has the facilities to deliver value to the customer
throughout the commencement of the project. The methodology is based on fulfilling
customer requirements at any given event and process effective communication and wide
transparency.

B4. Objectives and timeframe

Project objectives can be summarized below.

1. Process and Procedures Optimization

2. Gain Competitive Advantage
3. Revenue Growth
4. Cost Minimization
5. Increase Customer Satisfaction

The Project will be started on 10th October 2022 and end on 23rd January 2023. The Project
period will be 105 days.

18
B5. Work Breakdown Structure

Work breakdown structure concept use for define project scope and identified outcomes in a
structural way. Work Distribution Structure the for Digital transformation of Sunshine
Holdings PLC can be summarized as follows.

1. Project Initiation
1.1 Project Charter creation
1.2 Project Charter approval
1.3 Project Objective Statement creation
1.4 Scheduling tasks
1.5 Risk management planning
2. Selecting team members
2.1 Screening
2.2 Interviews
2.3 Requirement specifications
2.4 Allocate responsibilities
3. Assess project Priorities
3.1 Assess the Scope
3.2 Stakeholder interviews
3.3 Gap Analysis
3.4 Assess Capabilities
4. Define Project Requirements
4.1 Define Project Scope
4.2 Define Project Schedule & Target

19
 4.3 Define Project Budget
5. Design
5.1 Prototype Design
5.2 Architecture Design
5.3 Site Performance
6. Developing
6.1 Develop Graphics and Interface
6.2 Create content
6.3 Database implementation
6.4 Catalogue creation
6.5 Process sample transactions
6.6 Software integration
6.7 Create Security Subsystems
7. Testing and Control
7.1 Test configuration
7.2 Reviewing the design
7.3 Release the site
7.4 Project closure meeting
7.5 Closeout documents

20
Graphical Presentation of Work breakdown Structure

21
 Work Breakdown Structure

Digital transformation

Testing and
Initiation Planning Execution   Closeout
Control

Selecting team Test

 Project Charter Design  Prototype Design Audit
members configuration

Project Objective Assess project Architecture   Reviewing the

Site Cleanup
Statement Priorities Design design

Project Graphics and Document

Scheduling tasks Developing
Requirements Interface Handover

Risk management Database

planning implementation

Catalogue
creation

Software
integration

Create Security
Subsystems

Describe the work breakdown structure as follows.

1. Project Initiation

22
The Project charter includes project objectives, project scope, background, and stakeholders.
The Project charter is a live document. After the successful creation of the project charter, the
project sponsor will approve it. The Project objective statement consists with aim of the
project and objectives. The digital transformation project aims to maximize shareholder
wealth. The objectives of the project are to streamline processes, increase profits and enhance
consumer satisfaction.

2. Selecting team members

The project manager has to select appropriate team members for the project. There are the
most crucial team requirements for a digital transformation project.

- Organization’s data architect

- Database Administrator
- Business Process Expert
- Chief Digital Officer
- Cloud architect

3. Assess Project Priorities

By interviewing related stakeholders of the project, the project team assesses project
priorities. In Sunshine Holding, the project team could interview key stakeholders of the
management team, database operation employees, front-line employees (eg: pharmacies), and
employees of the Information technology department. They are the most impacted
stakeholders by the problem. After assessing the present situation, the project team can
analyze the gap between the current situation and the desired situation.

4. Define Project Requirements

Analyzing the situation and variance, the project team could figure out the requirements of
the project. Designing the project target, scope and budget will happen in this stage.

5. Design

23
Designing the required software platform will happen in the design phase. The team will
design a prototype initially. After testing the prototype and strengthening the weaknesses of
the proposed prototype, the architectural design will be started.

6. Developing Software

In the development phase, the team creates graphics, interfaces, and content appropriately.
After the database implementation, the various types of test runs will be initiated. Integration
of purchased software, cloud platforms, and internally developed software happens in this
stage. Creating security systems is vital in this stage.

7. Testing and Control

Testing, monitoring, and reviewing happen in the final stage of a software development
project. Adequate testing will confirm the viability of the project. After satisfactory testing
by client and developer parties, the product will be released for use.

24
B6. Gantt chart

Details for Gantt chart

10/10/202
Project start 2

Day
Task Start Date End Date s
1. Project Initiation      
10/10/202 24/10/202
A Get Approvals 2 2 14
10/10/202 24/10/202
B Scheduling tasks 2 2 14
10/10/202 24/10/202
C Risk management planning 2 2 14
2. Selecting team members      
24/10/202 31/10/202
D Select team members 2 2 7
24/10/202 31/10/202
E Allocate responsibilities 2 2 7
3. Assess project Priorities      
31/10/202 07/11/202
F Assess the Scope 2 2 7
31/10/202 14/11/202
G Stakeholder interviews 2 2 14
31/10/202 21/11/202
H Gap Analysis 2 2 21
4. Define Project
Requirements      
21/11/202 28/11/202
I Define Project Scope 2 2 7
21/11/202 28/11/202
J Define Project Budget 2 2 7
5. Design      
28/11/202 12/12/202
K Prototype Design 2 2 14
12/12/202 19/12/202
L Architecture Design 2 2 7
6.      Developing      
19/12/202 02/01/202
M Develop Graphics and Interface 2 3 14
19/12/202 02/01/202
N Database implementation 2 3 14
19/12/202 26/12/202
O Software integration 2 2 7

25
 7.      Testing and Control      
02/01/202 16/01/202
P Test configuration 3 3 14
16/01/202 23/01/202
Q Project closure 3 3 7

Project start 10/10/2022 Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Week ending date Date 17-10 24-10 31-10 7-11 14-11 21-11 28-11 5-12 12-12 19-12 26-12 2-1 9-1 16-1 23-1

Task Start End Days

1.Project Initiation
A Get Approvals 10/10/2022 24/10/2022 14
B Sheduleing tasks 10/10/2022 24/10/2022 14
C Risk management planning 10/10/2022 24/10/2022 14
2.Selecting team members
D Select team members 24/10/2022 31/10/2022 7
E Allocate responsibilities 24/10/2022 31/10/2022 7
3.Assess project Priorities
F Assess the Scope 31/10/2022 07/11/2022 7
G Stakeholder interviews 31/10/2022 14/11/2022 14
H Gap Analysis 31/10/2022 21/11/2022 21
4.Define Project Requirements
I Define Project Scope 21/11/2022 28/11/2022 7
J Define Project Budget 21/11/2022 28/11/2022 7
5.Design
K Prototype Design 28/11/2022 12/12/2022 14
L Architecture Design 12/12/2022 19/12/2022 7
6.      Developing
M Develop Graphics and Interface 19/12/2022 02/01/2023 14
N Database implementation 19/12/2022 02/01/2023 14
O Software integration 19/12/2022 26/12/2022 7
7.      Testing and Control
P Test configuration 02/01/2023 16/01/2023 14
Q Project closure 16/01/2023 23/01/2023 7

26
B7. Results of the project

After implementing the project of digital transformation, Sunshine Holding PLC gained the
following results.

Sunshine Holdings PLC’s pharmaceutical sector (Healthguard Pharmaceutical Company )

became Sri Lanka’s first fully integrated healthcare company. The Healthguard
Pharmaceutical Company operates all segments of medicine manufacturing, importing,
distribution and retail selling. The Healthguard Pharmaceutical Company launched
Healthguard Infinity, to assist local pharmaceutical companies by distributing. The capability
of arranging a wide distribution system is the advantage of the widespread information
technology it owns. They distributed medicine to over 3000 pharmacies island-wide, which
have had difficulties in receiving appropriate medicines in the past few years. The
Healthguard achieved efficiencies in the distribution system and retailing systems after
engaging with digital transformation. In the year 2022 financials of Sunshine Holding shows
37.1% growth compared to the previous year. Akbar pharmaceuticals merged with a
Healthguard pharmaceutical company in the year 2021/2022. It was a big step in acquiring
market share in the pharmaceutical sector. (www.sunshineholdings.lk, 2022)

The Plantation sector of Sunshine Holding PLC is handed by Watawala Plantations.

Watawala Plantation introduced iHarvest System which recorded all incidents in production
harvesting online through drone technology. It allows for recording of employee attendance
with photograph Identification. If the operating office is located in Colombo, the operation
staff can see all details online through cutting-edge technology. This is a way of waste

27
minimization. The Plantation harvested consumer goods sector (Watawala tea, zesta tea, ran
kahata) resulted in a 13.2% revenue increase in the financial year 2022.

The Watawala Dairy farm is equipped with the latest technology for milking, monitoring the
progress of the production system and monitoring the healthy behaviour of animals. With
help of innovative technologies, the yield has doubled and they maintain healthy animals.
With improvements in systems, Watawala Diary recorded a massive increase in revenue by
64.6% in the year 2022.

B8. Conclusion and Recommendations

A project has three types of results; outputs, outcomes and impacts. Outputs are immediate
results achieved immediate after completion the project. In the digital transformation project,
its pharmaceutical sector could keep proper records about its long-term customers and market
requirement. This initiative contributed to avoiding stock absolution and face effectively
market demand.

The outcomes are results coming after some time. This is happening during the short term
after implementing the project. The possible effect of the digital transformation project is that
Healthguard pharmacies could face huge medicine requirements in the Covid pandemic
period. the online platform system contributed to medicine ordering online during travel
restricted period.

The impact identified the long-term results of the project. They are favorable financial
results. Every organization's ultimate objective is to maximization of shareholder wealth and
sustainability. Wealth refers to monetary value, and sustainability directs the triple bottom
line: profits, plants, and the planet. Being sustainable organization is ultimate vision of
Sunshine Holdings. The digital transformation project has made a massive contribution to the
organization's objective.

Apart from immediate benefits stated above, the organization have demonstrated favorable
financial performance in the year 2022 compared with year 2021. A summarized version of
profits and related ratios are as follows.

28
The revenue of Sunshine holding has increased from 24.3 Billion in 2021 to 32.1 Billion in
2022 by 32%. The Grosse profit has risen by 2.5 Billion and 32% in the year 2022. But
administrative expenses have remained in the 2 billion range in both years. The net profits
have improved from 2.4 billion to 5 billion by 103%, almost doubling. The earnings per
share have improved from 3.39 rupees to 6.06 rupees in 2022. (www.sunshineholdings.lk,
2022)

Revenue, GP and NP
35,000,000,000
30,000,000,000
25,000,000,000
20,000,000,000
15,000,000,000
10,000,000,000
5,000,000,000
0
2022 2021

Revenue Gross Profit Net Profit

Extracted and calculated from Annual report 2022 –

Sunshine Holding

The digital transformation project has streamlined organizational activities, enhanced

efficiency, and improved productivity and sales. Efficient administration can improve the
productivity of supply chain activities and factory-level efficiency by continuous monitoring
and evaluation.

According to the financial statements of Sunshine Holdings PLC for the Year 2022, There
are performance improvements in sector-wise and the whole organization. Revenue growth
and cost efficiencies lead to a better bottom line and ultimately reach to increase shareholder
dividend and increase share price. It can be concluded that the aim of digital transformation
had fulfilled.

29
B9. Evaluation of the Project Management process

B9.1 Introduction to the analysis

Project evaluation is identified as the investigation of the success or failure of projects,

programs, and policies. Project evaluation is a systematic process. The evaluation can be
done during the project commencement or once the project completion. The evaluation
process may change according to conditions of internal workflow, key stakeholders, and
ongoing plans for upcoming projects. Project evaluation is crucial for three primary reasons.
It can contribute to assessing the progress of the project, identifying problematic areas, and
implementing efficient communication.

There are several principles in Project evaluations. Those principles ensure that evaluation
contributes to the success of the project. They are,

1. Seek to improve performance

2. Contribute to Organizational learning
3. Share Project participation
4. Focus on results
5. Build relationships with stakeholders
6. Use a credible process
7. Conduct evaluation ethically
8. Evaluate continuously

30
To test the improvements, the management must set clear goals and objectives for measuring
performance. Without setting appropriate goals, the team might be misleading. Settling
proper goals, the leader could break them down into milestones and delegate each to team
members. Then the leader can ensure each measuring task will perform by each team
member and he can ask directly for reports. Avoiding distractions is important as well as
planning.

Learning from the Organization represented taking knowledge about the experiences and
knowledge acquired by the organization during past years. There might be positive and
negative outcomes.

B9.2 Project Evaluation Process

The project evaluation process will start with setting an evaluation question. The evaluation
question must comprise to assess the effectiveness of the project, efficiency of the project,
rationale of the project, and equity of the project. The question comprises all or several
criteria that will be changed according to the nature of the project.

In a digital transformation, project evaluation must comprise the effectiveness, efficiency,

and equity of the project. For example, the evaluator must seek how far the project
development achieves the desired project objectives.

The second step is to identify the required personnel and the required information for them.
this is basically an analysis of stakeholders and their requirements. Details of Stakeholders of
any project had been documented ‘identify project stakeholders’ worksheet of the project
plan. Taking a clear idea about project stakeholders, their nature and their requirements is the
second responsibility of the project evaluator.

The digital transformation project of Sunshine holding PLC’s stakeholders are top
management, management team, group IT department, frontline staff of consumer goods and
pharmaceutical companies, back office employees, customers, suppliers, and the general
public.

31
The third step will be developing questions regarding to the success or failure of the project,
the reasons behind the success or failure, and lessons learned from the implementation of the
project. These questions must be asked by each stakeholder individually. Each stakeholder’s
feelings about the project may vary. Also, the impact of each stakeholder might be variable
from each other. For example, the front-line employee’s objective of easiness of work will
differ from the shareholder’s objective of maximizing his wealth. All stakeholder’s
objectives are aligned to achieve the organizational vision and mission. Then in evaluation,
evaluating each stakeholder’s objective successiveness or failure will hinder the
successiveness or failure of the organization.

The objective of healthcare pharmaceutical front-line employees might be to have well-

managed and available medicine stocks at any given time. But the top management key
personnel’s objective might be to eliminate waste and absolute stocks from pharmaceutical
stores. The ultimate vision of Sunshine holding is ‘To be the most admired conglomerate in
Sri Lanka’. both employees’ objectives are somehow contributed to the fulfillment of the
ultimate vision.

The fourth step is to track the output and outcomes of the project and evaluate them
according to the project objectives. and the final stage is to communicate the evaluation
report.

Project evaluation happens for the achievement of one or several objectives of effectiveness,
efficiency, or impact. The factor of effectiveness will monitor what degree of achievement
happens in the development of the project. Related to project development in Sunshine
Holdings PLC, the new technology how much increases productivity and performance. In the
context of efficiency, it evaluates the capability of new improvement to proper utilization of
organizational resources to increase its performance. Evaluating overall project results is an
impact objective. It measures the capability of new initiatives to reduce bottlenecks,
minimize waste, and improvement of overall performance.

There are a few types of Project evaluation methods. Pre-project evaluation, Ongoing
evaluation, Post project evaluation, self-evaluation, and external evaluation

32
Pre-project evaluation will execute before the beginning of the project, the evaluator can
refer to project planning documents and do the evaluation of success or failure. The
importance of this method is all parties including the evaluation team aware of project goals
and objectives.

Ongoing evaluation happens in commencing the project; the evaluation team uses several
methods to evaluate completed tasks. The purpose of this evaluation is to take the project
team right track if they have already taken the wrong path.

Post-project evaluation done after the project completion, the evaluation team analyses the
outcome and its impact on the Organization. The outcome contributes to determining the
effectiveness of the project and its objectives.

Self-evaluation can be carried out at any point in the project. Self-evaluation assesses the
alignment of objectives and work in progress of the project. External agencies perform
evaluations for a price. External evaluators have no connection with the project planning
therefore it is considered that external evaluation is more valuable.

There are a few types of evaluation in project management. Performance review evaluation
focus on one element of project management. Usually, it might be cost or time. Performance
evaluation will happen during the project commencement. Evaluating the quality of the
project is called an audit. Audits are conducted by external parties. Assessing project
achievements is a result evaluation. Analysis of the expenditure for the project development
and benefit retains is called cost-benefit analysis.

This evaluation is a post-project evaluation and it has been done using secondary data.

33
B9.3 Evaluation of the Project Management Method

The digital transformation of Sunshine Holding follows the Scrum Project management
method. Scrum project management method is a branch of agile project management
methods. “Whereas Agile is a philosophy or orientation, Scrum is a specific methodology for
how one manages a project,” Griffin says. (www.indeed.com, 2021). Scrum project
management explains what is the task, the method of doing tasks, the person who require to
do the task, and what time to finish the task.

There are three artifacts in the scrum project life cycle. The product backlog, the sprint
backlog, and the product increment are those artifacts. A list of features and needs is
explained in the product backlog. Current activities explained sprint backlog and product
increment is the version delivered. There are several gaps in scrum project management
which include missed out focus on quality, scarcity of staffing, limitations in backlog
refinement, and limited focus on incremental product delivery. For further development of
the project management method, the management should urge to provide adequate staff, and
improve the communication between management, client, and staff.

34
The scrum project management method explores the advantages of the use of easiness and
quickness. The method allows for eliminating mistakes without stopping ongoing project
work. It has improved transparency and allows changes when requested by the client for
ongoing work on the project. It saves time rather than other project management methods and
delivers better end products at its early. It produces quality final products and provides
budget-friendliness.

Sunshine holding has started the project in year 2021 and completed it less than one years
period. They conducted the project implementation as in-house project and maximum
involvement is 10 people. (microsoft.com, 2021). Therefore, it can be say that the project
management method has time saving effect and easiness with evidence of Sunshine
Holdings.

There are several drawbacks to the project management method. The scrum master’s
overreaching might be limited to team autonomy. Absenteeism of employees brings a
negative impact on project management. There is great pressure on team members of scrum
projects.

B9.4 Evaluation of Project Objective ‘Digital transformation’

Sunshine holding required to establish an automated and user-friendly information

management system. Sunshine holdings management’s core objective is to obtain quick and
reliable information throughout the group and quick decision making.

The project objective is the digital transformation of all systems of the organization. it is a
process of modifying existing systems, processes, cultures, and stakeholder experiences to
face the challenges of a novel world. Digitalization will transform the way of obtaining data,
the way of recording them, and the method of reporting to the top management. It initially
changes the method of employee working and the experience of other key stakeholders, such
as customers and management reporting bodies.

The less improvement of administrative costs of the organization reflects the obtainment of
quick and reliable data. the administrative costs had not shown a comparative increase with
the revenue (32% increase) and remained in the range of 2 – 3 Billion in both years 2021 and

35
2022. Also, the selling and distribution costs have remained in the 2 billion range over the
past three years and not growing up with the revenue improvement. The efficiency of the
systems may result in the lowering of related costs, revenue improvement, and, ultimately,
shareholder wealth. The objective of the whole program is to improve shareholder wealth.

Sunshine holding took a decision to transform its systems from paper and spreadsheet
reporting to a digital reporting system i.e., Enterprise Resource Planning System. This
became better for the organization-wide since the system transformation changed the
efficiency and effectiveness of all processes.

B9.5 Analysis and Evaluation

The project management of Sunshine Holding will be evaluated at the end of the Project.
Sunshine Holding’s digital transformation covered its subsidiary companies of Healthguard
Pharmaceuticals for healthcare, Watawala Plantations for tea products, The Watawala Diary
farm for dairy products, and Daintee Confectionaries for sweets. In evaluating the digital
transformation project of Sunshine Holding PLC, we have to evaluate all subsidiary
companies as well as the mother company.

Healthguard Pharmacies have implemented new technologies through the digital

transformation process and there are lots of learning outcomes. Before taking part in the
technology, the organization operated and prepared reports using spreadsheets such as
Microsoft Excel. (www.sunshineholdings.lk, 2022). They have no procedure to register long-
term customers, credit purchase customers, or analyze customer purchasing behavior or
patterns. This is crucial in operating a pharmaceutical business without proper knowledge of
market requirements. Another danger of operating without market insights is the waste of

36
medicine products or products becoming obsolete. Although, main stores do not know the
stock requirement of branches located out of Colombo or main cities. The scarcity of
medicine will threaten human lives as well as the reputation and profitability of the firm.

After entering into digital transformation, Healthguard pharmaceuticals could keep records
about long-term customers and market requirements. Then they can prepare themselves to
face market competition without wasting of obsoleting unnecessary medicines. This will be a
vital factor for Healthguard, due to the Covid-19 pandemic period, there was a scarcity of
medicine and online ordering culture emerged. With technological advancements installed
recently, the pharmaceutical company could face new challenges in implementing an online
ordering system and efficient distribution of medicines to consumers’ doorstep.

Digitalization allows making collaborations with similar pharmaceutical companies and

similar practitioners. Healthguard made use of that opportunity; they merged with Akbar
heath arm seeking future prosperity.

There are some obstacles in the healthcare industry such as sensitivity about people’s lives
and culture inherited within the organization. Make proper adjustments to those facts, the
transformation technology gives tremendous opportunities to pharmaceutical organizations.

In addition, Healthguard can start telemedicine services to support patients who can not
travel to pharmacy or physician. Healthcare organizations could collect massive data and
information, they could use them to identify viral diseases and found out cures for them.
Healthguard also collects this big data, and they could use that information for deciding what
medicines should be manufactured and in what quantities. Also, the company engages with
manufacturing or importing integrated wearable technology equipment and introduces them
to the local market.

Although the data processing is handled by an Artificial Intelligence system, it needs better-
personalized care to get cream of information. Data collection and synchronization are other
level challenges. Healthcare industry data security is vital because they are primary targets of
data criminals.

The Agribusiness unit of Sunshine holdings starts to use Drone technology to gather field
data of plantations and dairy farms located in down south Udugama. Digital transformation,

37
cloud computing, and integration with an enterprise management system (ERP) enhanced the
performance of the Agribusiness unit.

Watawala Plantation and Watawala Diary companies operate under the sunshine holdings
agribusiness unit. Before the transformation to innovative technology, plantations kept their
records through an excel spreadsheet system. Now those organizations have been moved to
an enterprise management system (ERP) and submit online data and information to the head
of operation and mother company.

Watawala diary is becoming a fully computerized entity and they use state of the art
DAIRYMASTER milking parlour system to monitor milking processes. The technology
contributes to automated milking, the separation of several factors of milk production, and
continuous monitor animal health. After implementing those technological advancements,
the diary recorded an increase in revenue by 64% in the financial period of 2021 / 2022
compared with the previous year. Contribution gained from Watawala plantation and its
subsidiaries has increased from 16.2% in the year 2021 to 20.1% in the year 2022.

In addition, the diary farm can use Product Traceability technologies for customers. In this
contemporary era, people love to find out the journey of dairy products from farm to their
home. The Watawala dairy company can introduce such a system to demonstrate their
sustainable production system to the public for a reasonable price. It could open a new
revenue generation avenue and build up trust in the consumer mind.

It can be more worthy for the organization could integrate with other farming companies and
the government for sharing information about frequent diseases, health conditions of the
cattle population, and possible solutions.

38
B9.6 Problems encountered and actions taken

Digital transformation is not just adding software to the system and giving training to the
staff. It is converting a completely traditional system into an automated and efficient system.
There are many problems encountered in running a digital transformation process in an
organization.

A project manager must consider the impact of digital transformation initiatives on

employees, customers as well as costs. These facts are directly affected organizational
business goals. As per the digital transformation statistics, 70% of digital transformation
programs failed upon employee resistance and lack of management support. (Nguyen, 2021)

A lack of change strategy might cause project failure. In Sunshine Holding, change
management was highly required in the transformation process. Having a strong change
management plan, the project would be successful. The resistance to change will occur
through employees and sometimes from the management. The resistance may cause a lack of
technological knowledge, fear of layoff, cost, and waste of time, fear of new technologies
and technological equipment, and fear of avoiding core business objectives.
39
Taking good insights from key stakeholders is the first step in a successful change
management process. The most crucial stakeholder is top management and shareholders.
Given a wide understanding of the project process and its advantages, the project manager
could change their minds about the process of change management. The tone of the top could
change employees’ and other stakeholders’ minds about the change. Evolving change
management culture would be added advantage to the process.

Sunshine Holding’s transformation process uses enterprise-wide software, tools, and

equipment like drones. Purchasing that equipment and software were expensive, and
management resistance would be inevitable. However, given a proper understanding and
explanation of the effectiveness and future investment opportunities, it could change the
management’s attitude.

Another reason for to resistance of change is the fear of losing employment. Most of the
employees think that transformation of the process required highly skilled people and
management intention to remove themselves from the organization. Resistance of employees
might be the main cause of the failure of the process and it could lose the profits and damage
the organizational reputation. Giving proper understanding and knowledge about the process
might solve the problem. Communication between top management and employees about the
effectiveness of the project would be a better solution too. Proper training to relate to
employees will enhance the effectiveness of the project.

40
B9.7 Lessons Learned

Lessons learned have both positive and negative experiences in conducting a project in
Sunshine Holding. Lessons learned to give the opportunity to project manager actual
experiences.

It is revealed that cross-functional team workings are more successful than handling the
project by a sole information team. Trying to handle the project using the information
technology team, received fewer insights about the process. But engaging with several
department employees, the real insight has come front and those insights became more
valuable for the successful completeness of the project.

Delivering the product as much as quick is not a viable ambition for the project. The project
should run in a planned time frame and sometimes the top management wants to speed up the
process. The lesson had learned is rushing the project is not obtain success. Sunshine
management wanted to do the project as much as possible. But it had lowering the quality of
some phases. After given understanding of the incident and negative results, the management
decide to allow previously approved time frame.
41
Delivering the product as much as quick is not a viable ambition for the project. The project
should run in a planned time frame and sometimes the top management wants to speed up the
process. The lesson had learned is rushing the project is not obtain success. Sunshine
management wanted to do the project as much as possible. But it had lowering the quality of
some phases. After given understanding of the incident and negative results, the management
decide to allow previously approved time frame.

A positive lesson learned from handling the project is training will enhance the success of the
project outcome and reduce the time consumed. Giving proper training to the staff, removes
bad impressions about the projects and they gave a big support to complete the project. This
initiative created a new cultural perspective within the organization.

B9.8 Performance as the Project Manager

Being the project manager for Sunshine Holdings, I have revealed that I am an effective
communicator, a skilled motivator, well-focused on stakeholders, and a more accountable
person.

There were several occasions, that I have to communicate with top management and
shareholders as well as employees to convince the importance of the project in addition to the
project scope. It should be communicating with top management about changing their
insights about costs incurred to software and equipment as well as time consumed to install
the project. After the proper communication, they agreed with me and change their thought,
and gave huge support for the project’s success. On the other hand, employees need someone
who explains insights into the project and the importance of employees for project success.
Those occasions verify me as an effective communicator and a skilled motivator.

I focus on all stakeholders from top management to the general public to find out what their
requirements are from the project and what problems will solve from the successful
installation of the project. Taking those insights will enhance my attachment to the project.
42
At the start of the project, I did not value the support of related employees for the project.
When completing several steps of the project, I realized that building a cross-functional team
would be more effective for the success and more easiness of the project.

B9.9 Conclusion for the Evaluation

Evaluation of the digital transformation project of Sunshine holdings has included evaluating
the objective, process, method, involved personal, change management efforts, and lessons
learned from the project. Taking all the above facts as a whole, it can be said that the
evaluation done is justifiable. This is an evaluation done by the project manager after the
project’s completion. If the evaluation is done by a third-party team or organization, it could
be more viable.

43
References
Anon., 2021. The Essential Guide to Quality Assurance in Digital Transformation Planning. [Online]
Available at: https://www.einfochips.com/blog/the-essential-guide-to-quality-assurance-in-digital-
transformation-planning/
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

Anon., 2021. What is Cyber Risk? Definition & Examples. [Online]

Available at: https://securityscorecard.com/blog/what-is-cyber-risk-definition-examples
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

Anon., n.d. Which project management methodologies should you use?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.teamwork.com/project-management-guide/project-management-
methodologies/
[Accessed 4 Oct 2022].

Brown, L., 2022. The Project Management Life Cycle, and Its 5 Phases. [Online]
Available at: https://www.invensislearning.com/blog/5-phases-project-management-lifecycle/
[Accessed 4 Oct 2022].

Butkus, V., n.d. A Project Manager's Guide to Digital Transformation. [Online]

Available at: https://www.toptal.com/project-managers/digital/digital-transformation-project-
manager-guide
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

Nguyen, S., 2021. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION - 50+ Critical Digital Transformation Statistics to Know
(2021). [Online]

44
Available at: https://whatfix.com/blog/digital-transformation-statistics/
[Accessed 16 Oct 2022].

Rever, H., 2017. Quality in project management. a practical look at chapter 8 of the PMBOK® guide.

Schulman, H., n.d. Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Benefits vs. Challenges. [Online]
Available at: https://www.lightico.com/blog/digital-transformation-in-healthcare-benefits-vs-
challenges/
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

Shannon, L., 2021. 5 Ways To Mitigate Technology Risks In Business. [Online]

Available at: https://www.itbriefcase.net/5-ways-to-mitigate-technology-risks-in-business
[Accessed 7 Oct 2022].

Singh, R., 2022. How Digital Start-Ups Are Transforming Indian Dairy Farming. [Online]
Available at: https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/how-digital-start-ups-are-transforming-indian-
dairy-farming/
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

Usmani, F., 2022. Risk Management Plan in Project Management. [Online]

Available at: https://pmstudycircle.com/risk-management-plan/
[Accessed 04 Oct 2022].

Usmani, F., 2022. Stakeholder Register in Project Management. [Online]

Available at: https://pmstudycircle.com/stakeholder-register-project-management/
[Accessed 2 Oct 2022].

www.cse.lk, 2022. Colombo Stock Exchange. [Online]

Available at: https://www.cse.lk/
[Accessed 2 Oct 2022].

www.indeed.com, 2021. Project Evaluation: What It Is and How To Do It. [Online]

Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/project-evaluation
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

www.sunshineholdings.lk, 2022. www.sunshineholdings.lk. [Online]

Available at: https://www.sunshineholdings.lk/our-story/innovations
[Accessed 6 Oct 2022].

45
46