Project Selection Methods And Initial Documents Essay.

A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to provide an expected and beneficial outcome. A project life cycle is the series of phases that a project passes through from its initiation to its closure. Project goals should align with organisational goals such as improved operations or increased revenues, reducing costs or improving efficiencies.

Before resources can be committed to a project, the reason for its proposal and the benefits it is expected to deliver need to be understood by people in positions empowered to make decisions about the expenditure of an organisation's resources. The selection of organisational projects is typically performed through a method of classification and review of the project’s business case. That method of course should be applied consistently to all project proposals.

For this assessment, you research different methods of selecting projects and examine the initiation process. You also consider the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guide and, more specifically, explore the initiation documents.

In essay writing, use the given/approved project throughout this assessment.

As you have discovered in your learning resources, examine project selection methods that can be applied appropriately to the given project and processes to conduct these methods. Consider the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and describe the initial process group and project documents that are created or used as inputs for a new project.

Maxima LT's Concerns

The company considered in this report is Maxima LT, which is a largest retail trade operator in the Baltic States. The concern of Maxima LT is the decreasing growth in turnover when compared to the year 2005. In 2006, it achieved a turnover of EUR 1.85 billion but the forecast of the company has predicted only 20 percent growth in turnover in the year 2007. It intends to apply automated processes for shopping centers to increase the output. As it handles various strategic projects, so responsible managers are assigned for implementing the projects and their budgets. For instance, the construction project, where new shops are being constructed. This has helped to develop a high level of competency, and hence it shows that it has continuously worked to improve the competencies for managing the strategic projects. In this huge organization, at present, the main challenges faced by the company includes ensuring a critical mass of project-minded people and managing on-time involvement and communication with respect to the project’s activities. It lacks a dedicated R&D (Research and Development) unit, for surveying the trends in specific areas to make effective proposals for improvement. It intends to increase the customer's convenience to do shopping. Maxima has started air ticket vouchers service with air partners. It is working to see the new service where the customers can pay the bills of the communication service at the retail outlet's checkout counters. It operates on the customer loyalty card program which facilitates it members to access the privileged terms for the services like petrol, pharmacy etc.

This section presents three new projects that the organization could take up: For any organization, business cases development is the initial step to ensure efficiency and effective resource utilization.

1. Service Efficiency: 

Reasons

Options

Benefits and Dis-Benefits

Timescale and Costs

Major Risks and Opportunities

Reasons

Options

Benefits and Dis-Benefits

Timescale and Costs

Major Risks and Opportunities

Reasons

Options

Benefits and Dis-Benefits

Timescale and Costs

Major Risks and Opportunities

The following methods can be used by Maxima LT for selecting the three projects suggested in the above section:

• Agile Methodology:This method can be applied as it is popularly known to increase the flexibility, despite the changes taking place in a business process. It ensures effective communication and helps to stay connected. Its main aim is to provide visibility and helps to meet the requirements. The process’s progress can be tracked. It helps to gain transparency, sustainability, predictability, reliability, and provides accurate result estimation (McIntyre, 2019).

• PRINCE2 Methodology: This methodology is mainly used for the project management, as it helps to identify the project's main elements which supports to deliver the benefits. It is a standard approach that supports to take decisions flexibly. It can easily detect the future problems. It offers effective communication, improves customer satisfaction and to tackle any kind of deviations in the project plan.

• Integrated Project Management (IPM): It helps in establishing and managing the project and the stakeholder's involvement based on the defined and integrated processes that are customized to fit to the needs of the organization's standards It involves both the internal and external stakeholders ("Integrated Project Management (IPM) (CMMI-DEV)", 2015).

This section sheds light on one of the best business cases to be initiated as a project and describes the initial process group according to the PMBOK.

It is suggested that Maxima LT must go with PRINCE2 methodology. PRINCE2 Methodology offers continuous business justifications, it allows to learn from the previous experiences, it manages stage wise and based on the expectations, it concentrates on the quality and delivery of the product, and it can be customized base on the project environment. It allows the stakeholders to involve while decision making. PRINCE2 methodology contains both the benefits of the other two suggested methodologies.

Moreover, PRINCE2 methodology can help in delivering increased products to its customers, which supports in increasing the sales and thus the revenue of the company can be increased. The main aim of Maxima LT is to increase the sales and it is possible achieve this with this methodology. However, the role of a project manager not just stops with development, it continues till the successful delivery of the expected results.

 Based on PMBOK the initial processes include Project integration, scope management, schedule management, cost management, quality management, resource management, communication management, and risk management. The project life cycle of a new process can be managed with the following stages:

• Project Initiation

1. Improving efficiency of the service
2. Research and Development
3. Improving investment for Supply chain management

• Project Planning

1. Budget planning
2. Resource planning

• Project Execution

1. Implementation of Plan

• Project Monitoring and Control

1. Monitoring the Plan’s progress

• Project Closure

References

Integrated Project Management (IPM) (CMMI-DEV). (2015). Retrieved 26 October 2019, from https://www.wibas.com/cmmi/integrated-project-management-ipm-cmmi-dev

Kukhnavets, P. (2019). All Benefits of Choosing PRINCE2 Methodology for Development. Retrieved 26 October 2019, from https://hygger.io/blog/benefits-choosing-prince2-methodology-development/

McIntyre, J. (2019). Agile Implementation: Methodology & Strategy. Retrieved 26 October 2019, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/agile-implementation-methodology-strategy.html

Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, USA.