Comp.manag.asign 2final

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

TOPIC MANAGING A PROJECT FROM AN IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION Traditionally, project development includes a number of elements: four to five stages, and a control system. Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will have the same major stages: • • • •

initiation, planning or development, production or execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

Initiation The project development stages

Initiating Process Group Processes.

The initiation stage determines the nature and scope of the development. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’s needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them. The initiation stage should include a cohesive plan that encompasses the following areas: • • • • • • •

Study analyzing the business needs in measurable goals. Review of the current operations. Conceptual design of the operation of the final product. Equipment and contracting requirements including an assessment of 'long-lead' items. Financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget. Stakeholder analysis, including users, and support personnel for the project. Project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule.

[email protected]

Page 1 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

Planning and design

Planning Process Group Activities.

After the initiation stage, the system is designed. Occasionally, a small prototype of the final product is built and tested. Testing is generally performed by a combination of testers and end users, and can occur after the prototype is built or concurrently. Controls should be in place that ensure that the final product will meet the specifications of the project charter. The results of the design stage should include a product design that: • • • •

Satisfies the project sponsor, end user, and business requirements. Functions as it was intended. Can be produced within quality standards. Can be produced within time and budget constraints.

Executing

Executing Process Group Processes.

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project management plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan.

[email protected]

Page 2 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

Monitoring and Controlling Monitoring and Controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and Controlling Process Group Processes.

Monitoring and Controlling includes: • •

• •

Measuring the ongoing project activities (where we are); Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, ...) against the project management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be); Identify corrective actions to properly address issues and risks (How can we get on track again); Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only approved changes are implemented

In multi-phase projects, the Monitoring and Controlling process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan. Project Maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes: • • •

Continuing support of end users Correction of errors Updates of the software over time

[email protected]

Page 3 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved. Over the course of any construction project, the work scope changes. Change is a normal and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This is referred to as Change Management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or more simply, “asbuilts.” The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts. When changes are introduced to the project the viability of the project has to be assessed again. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted end result may not justify the proposed investment.

Closing

Closing Process Group Processes.

Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned. Closing phase consist of two parts: • •

Close project: to finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the project or a project phase Contract closure: necessary for completing and settling each contract, including the resolution of any open items, and closing each contract applicable to the project or a project phase.

Project control systems Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget. Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-implementation review, having a [email protected]

Page 4 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees. Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement, and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how important the projects are to the financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls exist. Auditors should review the development process and procedures for how they are implemented. The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be assessed if needed or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved throughout the process to catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An auditor can serve as a controls consultant as part of the development team or as an independent auditor as part of an audit. Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating strong controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines: • • • •

A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives Standards for new systems Project management policies for timing and budgeting Procedures describing the process

[email protected]

Page 5 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

PRACTICAL STUDY

ABOUT HONDA Honda Motor Company entered the U.S. market in 1959, selling motorcycles. Twenty years later, the company had expanded sales across the border into Canada and was opening its first manufacturing facility in the U.S., in Marysville, Ohio. A few years later, Honda became the first Japanese automaker to produce passenger cars in the United States, also in Marysville. A new plant in Indiana, Honda’s seventh automobile plant and fifteenth major manufacturing facility in North America, will raise Honda's total North American automobile production capacity by 200,000 units to more than 1.6 million units in 2008. The plant will increase North American employment to more than 37,000 associates and deepen North American capital investment to more than $9 billion. Honda's success depends on its commitment to continued investment in its largest market, North America.

PROJECT FROM AN IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE Honda’s North American manufacturing operations span/cover two countries, the United States and Canada. However, IT management occurred at the business-unit level, that is, each manufacturing plant across the continent had evolved its own IT Project Portfolio Management (PPM) methodologies and workflows and selected its own supporting software applications. That made collecting and organizing data for any project that crossed business units especially difficult and time consuming. Increasing interaction among the various IT groups in the region underscored the potential benefits of standardizing IT operations and improving IT governance and efficiency. Honda’s North American management team decided to look for a single tool that would unify PPM systems across business units. Four sites were selected for an initial rollout of an integrated system: Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, and Ontario.

[email protected]

Page 6 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

Requests for service from Honda’s IT department could be initiated by employees at all levels of the company, from assembly line workers to executives. Some software handling project and resource management was considered difficult to use; some was obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer. Ease of use and distributive availability were important considerations for Honda. Another problem was dependence on paper forms, which made controlling and retrieving data cumbersome. Honda wanted to reduce paperwork by automating PPM forms and processes, allowing input and visibility into a single data pool from many locations. Honda representatives began researching available PPM solutions. They spoke with prospective software vendors and attended user group meetings. Networking and favorable references introduced Honda to Xinify’s work as a CA Clarity Solutions Service Provider. Honda selected CA Clarity PPM as the means to a comprehensive fix and chose Xinify to assist with implementation. The Solution Honda formed a project team with members from the four business units participating in the initial deployment. Team members served as advisors, representing the interests and needs of their respective facilities. Xinify ran demos to show how Clarity functioned and how the application could satisfy particular requirements. To configure Clarity to best suit Honda’s needs, Xinify consultants gathered information about the many PPM processes on which the various business units relied, reconciling common elements in data and process flows, making sure no elements or steps unique to one site were lost. The solution had to suit all business units. There were two main functional parts to the consolidation project: the implementation in Clarity of the Service Request, the basic form used to demand Honda IT services; and the configuration of Clarity to automate as much of the IT project lifecycle as possible. Special attention was paid to transforming Clarity’s pre-configured Idea screen into a new version of Honda’s Service Request. The new Service Request would be familiar to users by name, would utilize existing terminology, and would emphasize ease of use by the thousands of employees at North American facilities, most of whose involvement in the project management process would largely be limited to entering and submitting a Service Request. When management approves an IT Service Request, the nomenclature/classification changes from request to project. The second functional role of Clarity was to automate and facilitate tracking, monitoring, [email protected]

Page 7 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

and controlling of projects from approval to completion. Generally, workflows for Honda’s mature business processes were consistent with Clarity’s out-ofbox configuration; however, Xinify created custom screens and subprocesses to handle Honda-specific requirements, particularly in the areas of evaluation and chargeback. A major part of automating the project lifecycle was figuring out how key job functions and key actors fit into established processes. Clarity includes configurable access rights, which are critical to managing the project lifecycle. For example, most of the employees filling out and submitting Service Requests need follow-up permission for nothing more than logging in and monitoring a project’s progress. On the other hand, IT project managers need access to Clarity’s database from the time a Service Request is submitted until a project reaches resolution. Xinify identified the many types of system users and the levels of access to data each required, then designed a complex network of permissions and assigned them. Clarity’s notification feature alerts the appropriate personnel that a Service Request or project milestone has been reached and that an action may be required. For example, when a Clarity Service Request is submitted, the system automatically issues appropriate notifications to key people specified by the Service Request itself or pre-defined along the Service Request’s approval path. Using a configurable set of business rules, Xinify customized Clarity to notify pre-defined actors or groups of actors who had ownership of or impact upon work associated with a Service Request or project. Previously at Honda, there had been no standard method of notification and the company relied heavily on paper forms. The person initiating a Service Request was responsible for manually notifying the appropriate people. Now, Clarity notifies key actors that a milestone has been reached and a review is required. Users conduct their reviews and assessments online, entering pertinent data directly into Clarity screens and passing the data to a central repository. As the consolidation project progressed, the project team met for periodic reviews, agreeing on process flows, screen layouts, data fields, and a framework for defining and assigning access permissions.

[email protected]

Page 8 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

THE RESULTS Clarity proved successful satisfying key Honda requirements: •

All business units now use the same project and resource management tool. Data is online and can be entered, retrieved, and shared by users at any participating location, regardless of which business unit owns the project. All projects must be submitted using a Service Request through Clarity. Previously, there were no controls in place to ensure that every small project entered the system.

1 • Data is stored in a single repository/storehouse internationally and across business units.

•

and

accessible

Project accounting has improved because data is consolidated. Reporting is easier and providing metrics does not require gathering data from multiple systems and multiple locations. Clarity screens replaced existing paper forms, reducing storage, waste, cost, and effort. Clarity screens and workflows have automated the Service Request approval process and project management lifecycle.

Various manual processes have been automated, saving time and increasing efficiency. Clarity’s workflows link online actions and lifecycle milestones to the issuance of notices and action items to key actors. •

Reviewing and reporting is improved.

Project and resource managers can catch data-entry errors, especially on timesheets, and make corrections easily online. Paper forms have been eliminated; data goes directly into relevant, single-sourced project records visibly and plainly. A newly-formalized approval process and Clarity notifications prompt managers to conduct their weekly reviews of timesheet and project data. Custom screens and port lets provide users with quick and easy views into PPM data. •

Data security is improved.

Locking and unlocking mechanisms within the Clarity architecture keep information from accidentally being changed. For example, a block of data fields on the Service Request are identified as the Description. These are

[email protected]

Page 9 of 10

03335494977

Compensation Management

Code 823

Assignment No.2

locked (made uneditable) when the Service Request is submitted. Locking and unlocking can also be controlled with user access rights. As the project advanced, Honda wanted to know how to plumb/examin, organize, and present Clarity data for quick, daily reviews. Xinify worked up several custom port lets, which were not part of the original configuration requirements, and made life a little easier for Honda. Xinify completed the Clarity deployment in time for Honda to meet its Clarity training schedule for a phased rollout, beginning with the Ohio and Indiana plants. Delivery exceeded Honda’s expectations.

[email protected]

Page 10 of 10

03335494977