Question 1 (450 marks)
Background
Because you have performed very well in your project review task, you have been promoted to a senior project management position within your organisation.
Your main responsibility is that management of a program of approximately six (6) engineering projects in a related area of your organisation.
You have just taken over this particular program.
Three (3) of the six (6) projects in this program are progressing well towards a satisfactory result. The remaining three (3) projects, Project A, Project B and Project C require attention.
The information given below about each project is fairly basic. You are expected to develop additional details about each project as part of your answer, and for each project nominate an example project (for example, a road construction project for Project A, development of a new manufacturing system for Project C) for which to develop your answers. Further information with respect to these matters is in Questions 1 and 2 of Part A of Your Task.
Project A
Project A is a larger project (about $10 million in value) that is progressing well, but is being conducted in an environmentally sensitive area in which has a number of property owners who are quite concerned with the impact of the project on their environment. In particular, they are concerned that a thorough environmental risk assessment has not been undertaken with respect to the long-term impact on the sensitive bushland area in which they live. They are also concerned that completion of the project, through providing the basis for significant property development and destruction of bushland, will forever change the social fabric of their region.
Project B
Project B is smaller (about $5 million in value) than Project A. It is well behind time, over cost and is not achieving quality targets. There are also a number of risks associated with this project, including a quite basic business case, rudimentary project charter, poor definition of expected project outcomes, a large number of client requests for changes, poor change control procedures, difficult working conditions, difficulty in procuring a number of critical components on the local market, inability to attract good project staff and the potential for high penalties if it is not completed in time for the Minister to officially open it.
Project C
Project C is a small (about $2 million in value) but complex project that has as its purpose the development of a new management system, and is highly complex in nature. In particular, it has a number of small interrelated sub-systems that are mutually dependent, and does not have a well-defined direction. There are as a result numerous interactions between project developers about the direction that the project should take. It is, however, an important project as if the new system achieves its desired goals, the organisation will be able to achieve considerable productivity improvements.