Enhancing Convenience For Online Crop Buying And Selling

Identifying Desired Area of Impact

Step 1: Identify the desired area of impact 

Area of Impact	Rank (1 to 5)
Customer	1 Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper
Social	2
Operational	3
Financial	4
Strategy	5

Step 2: Identify Desired Value – Better / Faster / Cheaper / More

The desired values in this project are faster and more.

The main priority of this project is to ensure faster and more efficient operations regarding the purchase and sale of the crops by the growers and buyers. The app and the website will assist the users to perform their actions like putting up sale, placing bids and other activities much faster and easier.

The company also targets to do more using this project. While the online stud farm management system has gained sufficient popularity among the clients, the company further wants to develop a website and a dedicated application for smartphones used by the clients. Thus the target of the company is to expand the functionalities of the existing system with added values for the convenience of the customers.

Step 3: Identify the Metrics

The main metrics of the project are time and budget. It has been agreed that a time schedule and budget are fixed, they will not changed at any condition.

Hence, the overall time determined for the project is 142 days and an approximate budget has been determined for $1,058,360.

Step 4: Identify the Timeframe

The overall timeframe for achieving the MOV in the project is set at 2 months after the completion of the project. These two months are allowed so that the organization can get sufficient time to release the system for end-users and gather feedback from them regarding usability and issues of the system.

Step 5: Agree with the Sponsor

The sponsor recommends developing a suitable roll out strategy so that the organization does not have to face any problems while going live. Moreover, the sponsor also requires finalizing a budget during planning so that it can be fixed without any major changes in the future.

Step 6: Summarise in a Clear Concise Statement

This project is basically aimed to enhance the convenience of the customers (farm managers) for purchasing and selling crops in an online marketplace. While the Globex can gain significant business benefits from the project, the project is basically customer centric. The developed website and the mobile application will allow both the growers and the sellers to buy and sell crops as per their own conveniences.

The functional scope items of the project are listed as follows.

• A new online cash marketplace platform named i-Crop
• A new website that will support this marketplace platform (supported by web browsers of both computers and smartphones)
• A new dedicated mobile application of the online marketplace for iOS and Android operating systems

The project delivery scope items are listed as follows.

• The project requirements are all listed, documented and tested for feasibility
• The new proposed website and the mobile application are designed and developed with suitable features
• The developed systems are tested for identifying bugs that may cause problems in future
• All necessary features including the functionalities, user interface and others are appropriately added
• Support the system through warranty period of at least 24 months 

Identifying Desired Value

The main scope of the project is to develop the online cash transaction marketplace platform where the growers and buyers of crops will be able to sell or buy crops. This platform is to be developed along with a website and a dedicated mobile app.

In order to ensure the project remains within scope, it is required to monitor

People	Roles
Architects	Design and develop the system architecture
Project Manager	Manage and control the project
Business Analysts	Analyse the business aspects of the project
Project Sponsor	Provide financial backing for the project
Designers	Design the overall system as per requirements
Testing Team Lead and Testers	Conduct testing of the system to identify and issues
Training Team Lead and Trainers	Conduct training sessions for employees of the organization
Recruiters	Recruit necessary human resources for the project
Configurations Specialists	Make suitable configurations in the system to meet the requirements of the customers
Developers	Develop the system as per requirements
Stakeholders	Play various roles in the overall organizational structure
Team Leaders	Lead their teams through various challenges
Chief Architects	Prepare system architecture design
End-Users	Use the system and provide improvement feedbacks
Manager	Handles operations and management of the entire project team

6 Technology (Hardware, Software and Network)

Hardware	Technical updated hardware including PC and smartphone
Software	Android software development platform, website development software, testing software
Network	A strong and stable internet connection with no lag

For the purpose of project work, a separate project room will be provided along with all necessary hardware and software support. In addition, a room will be provided for the teams to conduct meetings whether the team members will discuss the project progress with the project stakeholders.

Travel Requirements	Team members who are located away from the project site will have to travel everyday if sufficient accommodation cannot be provided. In these cases, conveyance fees will be paid additionally.
Training Requirements	The employees need to be trained in order to ensure they know how to manage and maintain the overall system

 9 High level Work Breakdown Structure with Duration and Resource Assignment

The milestones are shown in the Gantt chart table as the activities that have been marked with zero duration. The milestones are also distinctively marked in the Gantt chart itself.

The assumptions made during planning of this project are as follows.

• It has been assumed that the determined time schedule will be sufficient for the project.
• It has been assumed that the project can be completed within the estimated budget.
• It has been assumed that all the proposed features can be integrated within the same system.
• It has been assumed that all the targeted clients have access to devices like computer and smartphones.
• It has been assumed that the targeted clients have access to reliable internet connection.

Risk ID	Description	Probability	Impact	Rate	Assigned To	Response Strategy	Threat or Opportunity
1	Budget can be a risk if it is exceeded by a significant amount	4	4	16	Sponsor	Define scope and align it with budget in such a way that there is not much additional expenses	Threat
2	There might a risk regarding time if the provided time is not sufficient for the project	3	3	9	Project Manager	Consider early start, early finish, late start, late finish scenarios during planning along with using time relaxations	Opportunity
3	Technical risks may occur during the project	2	4	8	Chief Architects	Identify possible technical problems early and prepare suitable management plan	Threat
4	There may be legal risk due to use of unlicensed software	1	5	5	Designers, Developers	Verify all licenses of the software before use	Threat
5	The employees may not have sufficient technical expertise regarding the management of the new system	2	2	4	Trainers	Conduct training sessions	Opportunity

A statement that states the team philosophy regarding the quality of the project is as follows.

“The team is assigned to deliver the best possible outcome for the project without compromising with the quality of the project, irrespective of budget and time constraints.”

Verification Activity	When?
Verify whether project plan is complete	After planning phase
Verify whether the system requirement is fully clear and understandable for project team members	During team meeting for proceeding with the project
Verify if the design of the website contains all the features	After design of the system is complete
Verify if the testing is successfully completed	After the design and development are complete

Validation Activity	When?
Validate the project based on the charter	After handing over the charter
Validate the system design	Before final approval to proceed in the project
Validate the overall project	After project is handed over

Annotated Bibliography

Article 1: Serra, C. E. M., & Kunc, M. (2015). Benefits realisation management and its influence on project success and on the execution of business strategies. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 53-66.

According to the authors, project closure is an important part of a project and is generally completed after the execution phase is over and the project is handed over to the management. The closure phase is mainly required to ensure that all the project objectives have been successfully fulfilled. The closure phase of the project basically includes post project evaluation process that is mainly done by the project manager with the assistance of the project supervisor or any other stakeholder with a similar role.

Article 2: Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

The authors have described about the nature of the project closure phase and how it should be conducted to get the best possible results. The authors have suggested the use of a checklist while reviewing and evaluating the delivered system. This system will ensure the reviewer does not miss any point while reviewing the system output. If any of the items in the checklist is found to be incomplete, the reviewer can send a report back to the management who will then reopen the project for further work.

Article 3: Fleming, Q.W. and Koppelman, J.M., 2016, December. Earned value project management. Project Management Institute.

The authors have strongly emphasized that a project must not be closed before the review process is complete. Hence, during the planning of the project, the project manager must decide about the number of days he will require to review the project and incorporate these days into the project schedule. The project contract should also be designed such that no payments will be made until the review process is completed and it is ensured that all the requirements are fulfilled.

The closure checklist is as follows.

• Is the testing of the system completed?
• Have documents been reviewed and approved?
• Requirements Traceability Matrix been checked?
• Are all risks and issues addressed and closed?
• Is the system handover completed?
• Is the training module for the employees completed?

The project MOV will be evaluated once it is completed and rolled out for the customers to use the system and provide valuable feedback. Since the project is entirely customer centric, customer feedback will be essential to develop the system further to suit their needs and achieve the highest degree of MOV. 

References

Binder, J. (2016). Global project management: communication, collaboration and management across borders. Routledge.

Fleming, Q. W., & Koppelman, J. M. (2016, December). Earned value project management. Project Management Institute.

Harrison, F., & Lock, D. (2017). Advanced project management: a structured approach. Routledge.

Heagney, J. (2016). Fundamentals of project management. Amacom.

Kerzner, H., & Kerzner, H. R. (2017). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Larson, E. W., Gray, C. F., Danlin, U., Honig, B., & Bacarini, D. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (Vol. 6). Grandview Heights, OH: McGraw-Hill Education.

Lock, D. (2017). The essentials of project management. Routledge.

Marchewka, J. T. (2014). Information technology project management. John Wiley & Sons.

Mir, F. A., & Pinnington, A. H. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, 32(2), 202-217.

Nicholas, J. M., & Steyn, H. (2017). Project management for engineering, business and technology. Routledge.

Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information technology project management. Cengage Learning.

Serra, C. E. M., & Kunc, M. (2015). Benefits realisation management and its influence on project success and on the execution of business strategies. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 53-66.

Verzuh, E. (2015). The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley & Sons.

Walker, A. (2015). Project management in construction. John Wiley & Sons.