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Week 5 Final
Eric Fonseca
Proper planning is vital to the implementation and success of a project that meets the
needs of the project sponsors and customers. Westland (2007) states A project is a unique
endeavour to produce a set of deliverables within clearly specified time, cost and quality
constraints (p. 2). This statement identifies that projects must be systematically and carefully
considered before their delivery to meet the constraints. Examining the resources, finances,
quality, risk, acceptance, communication, and procurement allows a Project Manager to maintain
control of the project and ensure that major milestones are being met. These criteria will be
examined for utilization for a new health and fitness program to be provided to consumers of a
health insurance company, to ensure the project meets the companys goals and the customer's
satisfaction. Following these guidelines assures that the project will meet the project sponsors
specifications and provide a completed project that meets the goals and saves the company
money.
The Health and Fitness Program will be implementing an outbound call group that will
provide information to health insurance customers. The company has determined that providing
information on healthy eating, living, and fitness to customers can produce cost savings by
lowering the number of times customers are admitted to the hospital or visit their doctors.
Hospital and doctors office visits require payment from the insurance company and by lowering
these visits the company will save money in claims payments. The project will include training
for employees on health terminology, healthy eating, stress management, and exercise
information that will be provided to the customers. These employees will be training in a
These individuals will be located throughout the United States and will be working from home.
The project will begin July 1st, 2017 and closure is scheduled for November 1st, 2017.
Resource Plan
The first item that will be addressed after identifying the business need and goals will be
to determine the resources necessary to ensure the project is managed efficiently. Westland
(2007) states A resource is defined as the labour, equipment and materials used to complete
each activity in the project (p. 65). The first resource identified will be the project team. The
team will consist of a project manager who is responsible for ensuring deadline, equipment, cost,
and quality are delivered per the project sponsors agreement. An Instructional Designer will be
responsible for analysis, design, development and evaluation of instructional material that meets
the goals of the project. A Department Manager will be responsible for hiring employees,
ordering equipment, and assisting the learners during training to ensure they are meeting the
learning outcomes. A Subject Matter Expert will provide the instructional designer with the
health and fitness information for instruction and assist with any additional questions project
team members may have. Finally, an Employee Trainer will be responsible for the
implementation of instruction.
Next, equipment and materials are identified that will be needed for project completion.
It will be necessary for the trainees to receive computers, desks, and training materials for the
scheduled training. These items will be obtained from an external supplier. The equipment and
desks will be utilized by staff throughout the training and will continue to be used after training
has concluded. The computers must be able to run the health application the trainees are
utilizing and must come with peripheral items such as a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. The
training materials will include stationary, highlighters, pens, and pencils. These items will only
HEALTH AND FITNESS 4
be provided during the training phase of the project. All equipment and materials must arrive
Labor Summary
Project Manager Responsible for ensuring deadline,
equipment, cost, and quality are delivered per
the project sponsors agreement
Instructional Designer Responsible for analysis, design, development
and evaluation of instructional material that
meets the goals of the project
Department Manager Responsible for hiring employees, ordering
equipment, and assisting the learners during
training to ensure they are meeting the
learning outcomes
Subject Matter Expert Provide the instructional designer with the
health and fitness information for instruction
and assist with any additional questions
project team members may have
Equipment and Materials Summary
Computers Utilized by staff throughout the training and
will continue to be used after training has
concluded
Office Desks Utilized by staff throughout the training and
will continue to be used after training has
concluded
Office Chairs Utilized by staff throughout the training and
will continue to be used after training has
concluded
Stationary, highlighters, pens, and pencils Provided during the training phase of the
project
Financial Plan
The financial plan outlines the expenses that will be incurred during the project. These
costs include labor, equipment, materials, administration fees, and contingency funds. The labor
costs will be determined by the project team members. Equipment and materials are listed out
per unit. Legal fees will be incurred to manage any issues with the supplier as well as establish
trademarks and copyrights to the company program deliverables. There are also contingency
funds set up for any expenses that are unforeseen. The only identified risk is that the supplier
HEALTH AND FITNESS 5
may not be able to provide the necessary equipment at the desired cost, which the contingency
would cover. The following table illustrates the financial plan for the project:
Labor Cost
Project Manager $70,000 annually
Instructional Designer $65,000 annually
Department Manager $50,000 annually
Subject Matter Expert $10,000 flat fee for duration of the project
Equipment and Materials Cost Per Unit
Computers $600
Office Desks $200
Office Chairs $100
Stationary, highlighters, pens, and pencils $25
Administration Fees Cost per hour
Legal fees $250
Contingency Fund
Unforeseen expenses $5,000
Quality Plan
Maintaining quality in a project is important to ensure that the milestones and stakeholder
goals are met to their fullest potential. Cirina, Cirina, and Constanta Radulescu (2013) Identify
Quality management in projects applies from the initiation of the project, project processes,
project results, project management, at the end of the project (p.43). This quote shows that
quality is not important only at the end of the project but in all phases of the process. The first
step in determining quality is to define what quality means to the project. Quality for the Health
and Fitness Program will be defined as Project milestones and deliverables meeting the project
It is important to ensure that the customer specifications are identified to measure the
quality of the deliverables correctly. This process is done through the identification of quality
targets for each deliverable, quality assurance, and quality control standards. Quality Assurance
(QA) is preventative measures to eliminate variances in the quality based on the quality targets
HEALTH AND FITNESS 6
(Westland, 2007, p. 75). The Project Sponsor has identified that the project team must have the
project completed on time, within budget, and deliverables must be reviewed continuously
throughout the project to ensure there are no delays or additional issues. The staff that is
qualified to manage the project will be identified and recruited. Additionally, a quality meeting
will be conducted on a bi-weekly basis to ensure that the project is on track and meeting
customer specifications.
Additionally, Quality Control (QC) is defined as the curative steps taken to eliminate
any variances in the quality of the deliverable produced from the quality targets set (Westland,
2007, p. 77). One of the ways quality control will be implemented will be requiring peer reviews
deliverables. Also, phase reviews will be conducted by the entire project team that will allow for
consideration of each project milestone and gain approval from the project sponsor.
Risk Plan
HEALTH AND FITNESS 7
Identifying risks is imperative to a project plan as they may hinder the goal and quality of
the project. According to Petit (as cited in Teller, Kock, & Gemnden, 2014), project risk
management enables an organization to limit the negative impact of uncertain events and/or to
reduce the probability of these negative events materializing, while simultaneously aiming to
capture opportunities (p. 68). Many risks may affect the outcome of a project, and they vary
based on the goal. This risk may also be scored based on the significance they have if occurring
in the project. The risk impact score identified for this project will be from 10 to 100 with 10
being a low risk and 100 being a significant risk. The risks will also need to be evaluated for
ways that the risk can be minimized during the project. The Health and Fitness Project will have
Acceptance Plan
The acceptance plan allows the deliverables to be reviewed and accepted by the project
sponsor as agreed upon during the project planning. Westland (2007) finds The acceptance plan
is referred to throughout the execution phase as it is used to confirm that each deliverable
produced is complete and ready for customer acceptance (p. 84). The definition used for the
Health and Fitness Project will be The approval of milestones and deliverables by the project
sponsor that meet the specifications and goals defined. These milestones will be completed in
the order in which they are listed and will be scheduled on the project timeline. Risks must also
HEALTH AND FITNESS 9
be identified and reviewed which are covered under the risk plan for customer requirements.
The first item that must be identified are the project milestones and deliverables to be accepted.
Communications Plan
A communication plan will then be completed to ensure that the project team is providing
progress reports on milestones of the project. The communications plan will include events,
purpose, and frequency and make sure that there are regular progress reports toward completion
understanding of progress, risks, and achievements toward completion. Ziek and Anderson
(2015) find that communication is a competency of effective project managers or a factor to the
success of the project (p. 799). To limit the issues that arise during a project a communication
Procurement Plan
Procurement entails the acquisition of equipment and materials from external vendors by
identifying a supplier who provides the desired items at the most competitive price. A review of
available suppliers, a list of procurement items, requirements, timeframe, and budget must all be
considered when identifying a suitable provider for the project. These materials must all be
ordered and received before the project completion so employees can attend training starting
November 1st, 2017. Any deviation from the listed prices presents a risk that must be addressed
with the project team. A Request for Information was received from several suppliers, and it has
been determined that the selected providers offer the best product for the lowest price. The
supplier has agreed to the term of the project and assumed responsibility for any issues that arise
from their lack of compliance with the agreement. These items are necessary for the new
employed staff to be able to attend the online training session. The following table provides an
Conclusion
Certainly, proper planning is vital to the implementation and success of a project that
meets the needs of the project sponsors and customers. Examining the resources, finances,
quality, risk, acceptance, communication, and procurement allows a Project Manager to maintain
HEALTH AND FITNESS 12
control of the project and ensure that major milestones are being met. These criteria were
examined and how they will be utilized for a new health and fitness program to be provided to
consumers of a health insurance company to ensure the project meets the companys goals and
the customer's satisfaction. Following these guidelines assures that the project will meet the
project sponsors specifications and provide a completed project that meets the goals and saves
References
Cirina, L. M., Cirina, D., & Constanta Radulescu, C. (2013). Quality management in projects -
Establish the quality objectives of the project. Fiability & Durability / Fiabilitate Si
Teller, J., Kock, A., & Gemnden, H. G. (2014). Risk Management in Project Portfolios Is More
Westland, J. (2007). The project management life cycle: A complete step-by-step methodology
for initiating, planning, executing & closing a project successfully. Philadelphia, PA: