Peak LAN

Project
Kirk Baringer
Meagan Beeman
Allison Benton
Yolanda Boyd
Thomas Guess
Project
•Information
Peak Systems, located in Meridian, Louisiana
•Information Systems Consultants
•Project: City of Meridian’s social welfare agency
•Goal: to build complete Local Area Network
(LAN)
•Budget $90,000 to be completed in 26 days
Project Team
Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two
interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Project Team
Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two
interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Project Team
Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two
interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Budget
Risk
•Established budget is $90,000
•Do not cut corners
•Cheaper Hardware
•Hardware and Software
compatibility
•Hardware reliability
•Is this a realistic budget?
Timeline
Risk
•Project complete in one
month
•Allot of hardware
•Hardware
•Locating and purchasing
•Delivery
•Testing
•Multiple suppliers
•Is this enough time?
External Access
Risk
•Security
•Wired always better
• Privacy Act
information
•Wireless less secure
•Physical vs. internet
based database
•Database
corruption
User Account
Risk
•List must be accurate
•Names, roles, and
permissions
•Log on problems
•Access problems
•Earlier enough in project
Risk
Assessment
•Mapping out risks can be beneficial for a
project.
•Helps prepare a team for what might
occur.
•Scenario analysis is the most commonly used
technique for analyzing risks.
RiskAssessment Matrix
Risk Event Likelihood Impact Detection Difficulty When

Team Size Very High High Very Low Continuous

Budget High Very High Low Continuous

Availability of
hardware and Moderate High Moderate Installation
software
Secure
external/wireless
High High High Installation
access

User priorities &

authorizations -
Low Moderate High Start-up
can’t log on
 Project Team
Risk Risk Event Response
Risk Management Matrix
Team size Add personnel
Budget Increase budget or
downsize project
Availability of hardware and Send bids out to several
software suppliers
Secure external/wireless Set up tests to ensure this
access system is working and
secure
User priorities & Have a standby system
authorizations -can’t log on while transitioning to the
new LAN or work weekends
and off peak hours
Contingency Plan Trigger Who is Responsible
Sub-contract if possible and
within budget
Workload compared to
timeline
Peak Project
Manager working with City
of Meridian
Negotiate with the City of At the earliest point it City of Meridian
Meridian becomes obvious And Peak project manager
the budget is too
small
See if extras can be placed From the onset of the LAN Peak project manager
on standby and returned if project if there are
unused shortages
Have alternate ways for At the earliest point this Peak Project manager
remote employees to access system can be tested and
the server doesn’t work.
Have a secondary server At the earliest point the LAN Peak Project manager
system on standby and can be tested, run tests
don’t take the entire LAN periodically throughout the
down until the new installation to help catch
system glitches.
is running
 Team
Size Risk Event Response Contingency Plan Trigger Who is Responsible
Team size Add personnel Sub-contract if possible and Workload compared to Peak Project
within budget timeline Manager working with City
of Meridian

• Add personnel if needed

• Sub-contract if within budget
• Use the workload compared to the timeline as the trigger
• Responsibility lies with both, Peak and the City of Meridian
 Team
Budget
Budget
Risk Event Response

Increase budget or
Contingency Plan

Negotiate with the City of

Trigger

At the earliest point it

Who is Responsible

City of Meridian
downsize project Meridian becomes obvious And Peak project manager
the budget is too
small

• Increase the budget if possible or downsize the scope

• Negotiate the budget with the city of Meridian
• When it becomes obvious the budget is too small - trigger
• Responsibility lies with both, Peak and the City of Meridian
 Availability of SW &
HW Risk Event Response Contingency Plan Trigger Who is Responsible

Availability of hardware and Send bids out to several See if extras can be placed From the onset of the LAN Peak project manager
software suppliers on standby and returned if project if there are
unused shortages

• Send our multiple bids to suppliers of needed SW & HW

• Research whether extras can be ordered and held/returned
• If there are shortages this is an immediate trigger
• The Peak project manager is solely responsible for this
 Secure external/internal
access
Risk Event Response Contingency Plan Trigger Who is Responsible

Secure external/wireless Set up tests to ensure this Have alternate ways for At the earliest point this Peak Project manager
access system is working and remote employees to access system can be tested and
secure the server doesn’t work.

• Frequently test to ensure the system is working and secure

• Establish alternate ways for remote employees to access
• Earliest point system is tested and fails - trigger
• Responsibility lies with Peak project manager
 Priorities: Authorizations/user log
on
Risk Event Response Contingency Plan Trigger Who is Responsible

User priorities &
authorizations -can’t log on
Have a standby system Have a secondary server At the earliest point the LAN Peak Project manager
while transitioning to the system on standby and can be tested, run tests
new LAN or work weekends don’t take the entire LAN periodically throughout the
and off peak hours down until the new system installation to help catch
is running glitches.

• Stand-by system while transitioning to new LAN

• Work weekends and during non-peak hours to test
• Establish secondary server for temporary back-up
• Test LAN early and often; if it fails - trigger
• Responsibility lies with Peak project manager
Performing Monte Carlo
Simulation
• A Monte Carlo simulation helps predict risk by
using data to predict trends
• Performing a risk analysis will assist both PEAK
and the City of Meridian in determining if the
LAN project can be completed on time and
within budget
• Having statistical data will allow the project
manager to make sound decisions
Benefits of Monte Carlo
Simulation
• Allows for testing of theories before launching the
LAN project
• Provides statistical validity to the City by measuring
probability that the project will meet its stated
goals
• Reveals trends that can be modified to decrease
risk
• Assists the project manager in communicating ways
that the project can be restructured for enhanced
quality, efficiency and cost
Steps to
Perform
• Define the problem to be solved
• Can project be completed on time and
within budget?
• Define the drivers/variables of the
problem
• What might some of the delays and
hidden costs be?
Steps
Cont.
• Define the uncertainty for the variables
• Assign best, most likely and worst case
estimates to the identified variables
• Analyze the model using simulation
• Create a model that will compute the
assigned formulas to create
estimates
•En
d