1 Describe every assumption seen in any of documents provided in the case study. a. Kelly
i. Because of a 25% decrease of employees from a previous layoff he assumes that the company does not have the resources to allocate fully to the project. ii. Assumes that the Production Department is spreading itself thin. iii. Kelly assumes the I-Scanner is not as easy as Pat claims it to be. iv. Assumes throwing money at a situation will not solve the conundrum and marketing does not understand the production process. v. Assumes that the only available feature fathomable concerns identifying incoming consumers through retinal scanning. vi. Assumes that the resources for building this project are optimistic. vii. Assumes Pat is going behind her back concerning talking with the programmers. b. Pat
i. She assumes because a programmer told her they could build a prototype, and one of their installations is down, the programmers have extra time to work on the project. ii. Assumes Kelley is going behind her back when telling Chris she does not think the project will complete as stated. iii. Assumes the accomplishment of the project is simple because her outside sources told her it was possible. iv. Assumes that hiring an outside contracting design firm will better manage the project and assist in developing the new technology. v. Pat assumes the programmers can compile a prototype for August and disregards concerns that the technology will not contain every feature mentioned in Operation Optimize. c. Cliff
The Term Paper on Project Planning Templates
Max Lionel realty (MLR), in order to build customer good will and satisfy its legal and ethical obligations, has decided to implement a program to: Inform agent of legal and ethical obligations ( particularly with respect to WHS and anti-discrimination legislation) and any standards or codes of conduct followed by the organization Promote high standards in professional conduct ( see Real Estate ...
i. Assumes that the budget of $575k can be cut by 2/3, and the mil is out of the question. ii. Cliff assumes that all departments need a budget cut of 15%. iii. Assumes the August launch date has to be met.
d. Chris
i. He assumes that targeting banks, government offices, and other vertical market are an excellent choice for “Operation Optimize.” ii. Chris assumes that the 15% budget cut is possible without any layoffs.
2. Explain the arguments made by each of these people.
a. Cliff O’Connor: Cliff seems to understand the situation and hold the contractor responsible for resolving the problem. It seems he wants solid results from the projects themselves instead of the employees. He believes the budget is extremely hard to meet but believes the $575,000 is attainable. From his view the assumption is that the contract with a programming firm is out of the question. b. Pat Lambert: Pat’s argument is a prototype is definitely attainable and iterations will follow. Also Pat went out of her way to consult with a programming firm to help move along the process of creating Operation Optimize.
However, a contract with the programming firm will increase the budget by $350,000. c. Kelly Thomas: Kelly’s argument explains that time and resources are something they have very little of. He believes that proper product research coupled with the proper amount of time is essential for completing the project. Moreover, besides retinal scanning, the other features are just not feasible by the proposed August date. d. Chris Martinas: Chris is more of a mediator between the arguing parties. His focus centers on the 15% budget cut for funding Operation Optimize as he believes the numbers are too high. He believes extreme action needs taken to remedy the falling sales and sinking revenues. He argues that the 15% cut can be accomplished without cutting existing employees.
3. Evaluate each argument listed above as sound or unsound and why. Indicate whether they are emotional or logical in nature.
a. Cliff O’Connor: Sound and logical – I believe that as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Cliff has been through this situation before. He knows that if each employee works together he or she can accomplish the set goals, although the cutbacks could drastically reduce projected revenue if the product launched is not perfected at release.
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A student’s entry into a university could entail a lot of things. For instance, it means that a student, in this particular case Chris, would have to live away from his mom and move into a semi-independent environment. It could thereby be considered as a preparation for the new things to come. Chris needs a lot of changes to be able to adapt. He needs to more responsible in this new chapter in his ...
b. Pat Lambert: Unsound and emotional – Pat originally dreamed up the idea of this project. However, she has had a difficult time communicating with the others. Pat has advised Chris that she does not see why they could not have a product by August. Pat has no concept of what it takes to produce, test, and release a bug free product. Pat has tried to speak to Kelly for her take on the situation but Pat has made comments that have upset Kelly. Pat does not listen well to the facts of what it will take to finish this project.
c. Kelly Thomas: Sound and Logical – Kelly argues that AcuScan cannot offer the level of service that their customers deserve with a product rushed to the market. His argument is that rushing a product into the marketplace is not a good way to present a product intended to save the company.
d. Chris Martinas: Sound, emotional, and logical – Chris has encouraged everyone in the project to try to work together regardless of differences in opinion. Chris has been very realistic about what needs to be accomplished and when. He is confident in marketing the new product but he seems to be lacking the knowledge it takes to build the software to support this new product. He has assumed that launching the new product is not going to take much time. He has lost focus on the budget cuts, and with the reduced budget, the product would be hard to launch into a new market.
4. Describe specific fallacious arguments, and identify the people who hold them. a. False Analogy – Pat believes that creating a new product will be easy because AcuScan has created a high tech security system. Just because AcuScan has created a popular product does not mean that a new product line will be as well as or better than its previous products. b. Ad Hominem Fallacy – Pat seemed to attack Kelly about his thoughts and ideas and Pat thought she could complete the job without his help.
She went behind his back and questioned other members in his department to see if Operation Optimize is capable of production. c. Hasty Generalization Fallacy – Pat seems to believe because AcuScan created a unique product, it can produce another product with more features than the current one. Pat is generalizing the entire process through her emotions and limited communication with the programmers. d. Post Hoc Fallacy – Pat believes that Kelly’s old fashion ways are not suitable for the creation of Operation Optimize. A conclusion cannot form from this statement as Kelly is the one who created AcuScan’s Software.
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. What is involved in project scope management, and why is good project scope management so important on information technology projects? Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processed used to create them. Project scope management includes scope planning, scope definition, WBS creation, scope verification, and scope control. ...
Conclusions
2 Describe all problems in this situation.
a. A proposed 15% budget cut exists that will impede the financing for an upcoming product called “Operation Optimize.” b. A deadline exists for the completion of either a prototype or a fully functional product by August and some members believe this is not feasible given the amount of resources available. c. Pat and Kelly’s communication is bordering on a full blown argument. They both are trying to solve a problem better suited in a face-to-face meeting.
5. For each problem listed above, describe the data, arguments, and reasoning that contribute to the problem. a. Chris wants the budget cut by 15%. Departments managers are worried the budget cut will not be accomplished as stated. Some employees think cutting the budget and trying to finance the new project is just not feasible. Chris thinks both can be accomplished. b. A retail customer has shown interest in purchasing the new product. However, the promised date of August provides AcuScan with approximately six months for completion.
Kelly, Senior Engineer of I Scanner is adamant the project’s completion date of August is not optimal. He believes January of the following year is more optimistic. Furthermore, many features presented to the customer are impossible by August, according to Kelly. c. Kelly and Pat seem to be arguing on the issue of the job objective. Pat wants a prototype and in Kelly’s view there is not enough time. With the budget cut, 25% less programmers, and limited time Kelly has promised only the completion of one feature. Pat thinks a product prototype with all features is possible by August and perfected later.
6. What is the underlying problem that is the base cause of the conflict within AcuScan? The underlying problem is time, money, competition, and sagging sales of the Iscanner. A business window has opened for exploring a revamped product that will help bring in more market sales. Nevertheless, competition with other companies is creating additional pressure.
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7. What alternative solutions would you propose for this situation? a. Potential solutions are to have Kelly work on “Operations Optimize.” Reprogram and create any additional features possible to improving its line of product. Solving this will need time and a strategic plan, not a quick fix solution. b. If short-term goal is the key, there will be no product perfection. Set a long-term goal and a product of perfection. Long-run retailers and customers will see the quality in performance from high-tech engineering. c. For AcuScan to accomplish the project, they must increase product development and put and emphasis on team communication.
One individual team cannot do this task single handedly. From an outside viewpoint, Cliff O’Conner should involve himself more in the project. He passed the responsibility to Chris Martinas, who has left the project up to Pat Lambert the marketing director. Pat is fairly new to the company, and she has come up with an idea to roll out a new product line. This is absurd that the marketing director would be in charge of coming up with a plan to create a new software-based product without the input of the software engineer Kelly Thomas.
8. State the relative strengths and weaknesses of each alternative solution. a. The strengths in this solution are Kelly is the Senior Engineer of the Iscanner. Therefore, he should know his work front and back. The weakness of this situation is time; running tests will take up time. Therefore, competitors can hit the market first and AcuScan target customers (Retailers) will be lost. b. Selling the product and perfecting as it progress will sell the customers and gain clientele. Furthermore, if the customer satisfaction develops with the product there is no need in spending time and money in improving for perfection.
The weakness of this alternative is if the product does not meet expectations, there will be a chain reaction of problems. This is not suitable for a successful business. c. The strengths are the project team members are collaborating with differing points of view rather than one individual calling the shots. Many perspectives will arise in this type of situation. The weakness is that it would pull resources from other departments and stall other important products along with possibly more time for completion.
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... Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals should be established by the team’s ... create the focus needed as the management team members plan and execute the actions necessary to achieve the team’s goals. 5. Smart Goals ... made. Quality audits of your products or services will ensure that ... solutions to issues and challenges they individually or as a team ...
9. Which solution will you recommend to the CEO and why?
Solution C. The first goal of the company should be creating a team that works together. Once this is accomplished, it will be much easier for implementation of a new product. With everyone working together, it should not be an issue to develop a plan that works. Once the first goal is accomplished, the focus should evolve toward the objective of creating a product and putting it on the market. Without using all the resources of the departments and not communicating, the new product will never make it off the drawing board. With the cuts in budget and staff, it would make the most sense to hire in an independent contractor to help out Kelly’s department. Not only will this save AcuScan money, it will help to finish the product faster and ensure a solid build of the product. This way the budget is met and company regains a foothold in the industry they created.
