Option 1: Reflect on the Project Management Process Groups, which include:
- Initiating.
- Planning.
- Scope Management Plan
- Project Deliverables
- Financial Plan and Budget
- Project Schedule
- Quality Management Plan
- Human Resources Plan
- Communication Management Plan
- Risk Management Plan
- Procurement Management Plan.
- Executing.
- Monitoring and Control.
- Closing.
The possible challenges in these process groups and describe mitigating strategies in overcoming the potential risks in the construction of “Gli Sport” multipurpose sporting facility.
Background of “Gli Sport”
“Gli Sport” has been developed to maximize commercial real estate returns through multipurpose sporting facilities, which utilize innovative construction methods and an operational business model to effectively maximize space utilization.
Project Management Process Groups
- Initiation Process
A project charter statement needs to be developed to outline the vision for the project, scope, objectives and participants. Further, this statement will also outline the roles and responsibilities, project objectives, and identity of key stakeholders (Roseke, 2017). The statement will also include, strategic vision, high-level requirements, and the service and function upon completion of the project (Project Management Institute, 2013).
The statement also defines the control of the project manager and acts as a reference of authority. The project charter will be developed and be openly displayed through a mind map. It will include boundaries for the project to align expectations of the stakeholder and project team, which enables clear visibility about the strategic objectives (Project Management Institute, 2013, pg54).
Purpose of Project Charter
- View the Internal Rate of Return and analyze cash flows on the project.
- Serve as a sales document for Investors to prioritize the project.
- The reference point for when the project proceeds for scope management (Wikipedia, 2019).
- Planning Process Phase
The planning process defines, prepares, and coordinates subsidiary plans and combines them into one detailed master project management plan. This document defines the project work into one centralized document. A considerable amount of time should be spent on the project management plan to negate project challenges, missed milestones, increased construction costs, and quality outcomes (Serrador, 2012). Included in this document are the following planning phases:
2.1 Scope Management Plan.
The scope sets the boundaries of the project. It defines the project, on what will be delivered and what will not be delivered. Scope delineates the limits of the project. The scope needs to be defined clearly from the outset to mitigate risks of faulty scope interpretation, leading to false expectations, defective execution, and stakeholder dissatisfaction (Roberg, 2017).
2.2 Project Deliverables
A deliverable is a unique output, result, or product that must be produced to complete a process or phase, which is part of the project scope (Moses, 2018), Tools needed for delivery include a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) which is a visual tool to define milestones and track each project deliverable (twproject, 2018).
2.3 Financial Plan and Budget
A dynamic document that includes the specific tasks, budgets, and overall budget, this document is continuously updated throughout the project for accurate tracking and analysis.
2.4 Project Schedule
The project schedule defines the project from beginning to end and is an extremely important component within the project plan. A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a practical way to display project deliverables in a hierarchy system, enabling milestones to be met. The project manager should be constantly aware of the critical path throughout the project to respond to critical issues (TheP6Pro, 2015).
2.5 Quality Management Plan
The quality success criteria of each task of the project need to be identified and specified to ensure it meets industry standards, and stakeholder expectations for the product in the project scope.
2.6 Human Resources Plan
The selection of human resources is critical for the success of a project. Identification of specific individuals that not only have the qualifications and capabilities to complete the task but also work in a cohesive team-orientated and supportive culture inside the project team (Harrison Assessment, 2019).
2.7 Communication Management Plan
A defined communication strategy needs to be developed from the start, considering the full spectrum of the audience. Commencing with those who have little or no financial interests in the project, as they can cause an impact on the schedule if they are not informed and communicated well with, for example, the public or adjacent landowner (Roseke, 2018), ending with the key project stakeholders.
2.8 Risk Management Plan
The risk management plan identifies and prioritizes the potential risks in the project. The plan should table all the potential risks and the plan of action to mitigate this risk. This should be a comprehensive table so the potential risk does not compromise the project outcome.
2.9 Procurement Management Plan.
The procurement plan should identify at the outset what outside products and services are required, from subcontractors and suppliers. A procurement plan should also detail how they will be procured, their timeframes, and how the quality will be monitored.
Purpose of Project Plan
- Guide project management decision-making and act as a reference point, should challenges arise.
- Plan the necessary steps to achieve the project.
- Enlighten and keep project stakeholders and sponsors informed.
- Executing Process
After the project management plan has been documented, agreed and signed-off, the resources and project team are allocated to be assigned for the execution of the plan. The process of execution is primarily about people management, having the ability to control the project team when the inevitable project changes occur, and there is a need to negotiate compromises in a motivated goal-driven way without the overall project plan being compromised.
During the project execution, the project team is the biggest consideration, where needs and wants are not all the same. Hence, careful consideration is needed to ensure correct attention to team functioning as they are the key resource in achieving the project plan. Building a cohesive team environment where resources and the project team are considered, enables quality outcomes and meeting strategic and project visions (Caietti, 2018).
The project team needs to be equipped with the best possible tools, be respected in the team, and be highly motivated to complete the highest possible quality work. The project manager needs to understand each direct report and what gives the job satisfaction they are aspiring to achieve. They need to be recognised for their efforts and know that they will be empowered to do their work.
Stakeholder management is essential in projects, stakeholders as “customers” decide whether the project has been a success or a failure. During this phase, expectations need to be met and managed according to the project plan (Billows, 2018).
Also, during execution, how change is communicated needs to be strongly considered. If there is a change in the project plan due to unforeseen challenges, how this will be conveyed to the stakeholders and project delivery team is critical (Achieveit, 2019).
- Monitoring and Control
Monitoring and control of the project work are conducted simultaneously with the execution phase and is the process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the performance of the project. This phase observes the deliverables in the project scope, identifies potential problems and risks, and subsequent action for the mitigation of these factors through controlling and managing the process (Ransom, 2019). This process also gives stakeholders a clear understanding of the current performance of the project including:
- Potential risk and risk mitigation action.
- Budget.
- Time frames.
- Scope projections.
- Project Closure Plan
The project closing phase is as significant as the initiation, planning, executing, monitoring, and controlling. The closure plan details and verifies that all the process groups have been formally completed to project scope (Aziz, 2015). The closure plan details include:
- Formal closure of the project.
- Procurements.
- Liabilities and warranties from products and project team.
- completion details.
- Reflection of the project.
Reflection and lessons learned from the project are paramount, enabling two quality outcomes. First, it enables the project manager and team to learn what future project processes could be improved. Second, it details to the stakeholders a culture of learning within the project team (Nelson, 2008).
Possible challenges in these process groups and mitigating strategies in overcoming the potential risks in the construction of “Gli Sport” multipurpose sporting facility.
The strategic vision of Gli Sport is to maximize the space of commercial real estate by utilizing removable walls of squash courts (Billows, 2016). Potential high-level risks in the projects are in the installation of the concrete subfloor and sprung timber flooring. The risk is that these two deliverables can affect the operation of the removable walls and have the potential to cause substantial operating and construction costs (Spacey, 2015).
Processes used in mitigating risk are:
- Initiating.
- Planning.
- Concrete Installation.
- Flooring Installations
- Monitoring and Controlling.
- Concrete Installations
- Flooring Installations
- Project Closing.
- Initiating
Limiting risks comes in the recruitment and vetting of specialist trades. Firstly, traders must go through an extensive screening process on their competencies, part of this process is for them to provide three references of previous work. They will also need to provide a price for the contract which will be defined if they are successful. For our flooring installer, prior work collaboration in the development of a sprung timber flooring has occurred for Gli Sport, but they will still need to proceed with the next process, so we continue to provide a culture of cohesive team environment throughout the Company.
The ability to lead, manage, develop, retain and acquire quality tradespeople is critical for the success of Gli Sport in limiting potential risks. After the initial vetting process, trades will complete an online psychometric assessment. This assessment performs predictive analytics of the traits that Gli Sport needs to meet the strategic vision and quality standards (Harrison Assessments, 2019). This online assessment takes twenty minutes to complete.
Leadership in the project will also be asked to perform this assessment as well, leaders need to be aware of their traits, so they can lead better and provide a cohesive environment through the project and the company. A culture of learning will be installed in leadership and trades in Gli Sport.
This initial analysis will provide us with information about the trade, the desired cultural traits and will also provide us with information about traits to avoid. Knowing how a trade wants to be communicated with, how they would like to be treated, and what motivates them to succeed inside the project is critical for Gli. Gli Sport will ensure that a significant amount of motivation will be received through the construction of the project itself. The need for intrinsic motivation for tradespeople is paramount for engaging, retaining, and having committed specialized trades, because Gli Sport is both a result-driven and a culture-focused organization.
Building relationships and having passionate tradespeople who have a clear understanding of their role is paramount. Traits GLI would be testing for in successful candidates would be:
- Appreciation expectations.
- Communication expectations.
- Personal expectations.
- Work-life balance expectations.
- Authority expectations.
- Collaborative intentions.
- Comfort with conflict.
- Handles conflict.
- Flexible.
- Optimistic and enthusiastic.
- Helpful.
- Manages stress well.
- Tolerance to bluntness.
- Team oriented.
- Planning
Once the initiating phase has been completed and all contracts signed, the planning phase can proceed, installation of the concrete subfloor and the sprung timber floor begins in the planning phase. Both phases need to be well planned before the specialized trades are needed onsite.
2.1 Concrete Installation
To ensure time frames and schedules are met, reinforcement for the concrete needs to be ordered, with a minimum of one week before the commencement of the concrete. The reinforcement will need to be installed as per drawings and signed off on by the engineer before the concrete slab can be laid. Once the reinforcement has been signed off on, the concrete installation can proceed. Two days before the commencement of the concrete pour, the concrete will need to be ordered to ensure delivery, also, the weather needs to be considered when ordering. In planning, an allowance of one week will be added to the schedule, to accommodate loss days due to inclement weather.
2.2 Flooring Installation
The sprung timber flooring needs to be ordered and onsite as soon the project is at the lock-up stage, due to the need for timber to acclimatize to the environment (AFTA, 2019). It cannot be ordered before lock up as theft can occur.
Suppliers need to be informed of the scheduled delivery dates to ensure supply. Delivery will be taken by the project manager and placed inside the building to acclimatize. It is estimated that the timber needs to be onsite approximately three weeks to four weeks before the commencement of installation. Line marking documentation will need to be completed in this planning phase, the document will display all lines and the colours of each different sport.
Also, in the planning phase, consideration to the schedule for lower back challenges that occur in timber floor installations. The lower back in the installation of the timber flooring is adversely affected, a stretch program will be put in place to mitigate this risk.
- Monitoring and Controlling
An Agile methodology approach will be implemented in the monitoring and controlling phase of the project. Each day in the project office, all trades will be asked to attend a “stand-up”, where discussion on what trades are going to be onsite and if there are any specific details that need to occur to allow for streamlined delivery of each specific trade task, special attention will be on schedule time frames and if trades are meeting those time frames and if there is an urgent need.
3.1 Concrete Installation
On the day of the concrete floor being laid, another “stand-up” will occur between the project manager and the specialized trade (Al Behairi, T. A. 2016). This “stand-up “discussion will include the expectations of the day pour, tolerance levels, which are between zero to five millimetres over the entire slab, and the installation methods. It will also include the weather conditionings and if water will need to be added to the mix due to heat and concrete curing too fast.
To ensure we meet the tolerance levels outlined in scope another two layers of risk will be implemented. The following day after the concrete pour all levels and heights will be viewed. If there is a hump in the concrete that is over five millimetres, concrete will be ground down, the reason for doing this the day after the pour is when concrete has not had to cure it is still soft and the ability to grind is considerably easier and less costly. If the levels are low, the floor will be flooded with concrete topping in the low areas.
Any change from the original project scope needs to be updated on the change management board for further learnings, which include weather, water, and or additives to the concrete. Change in scope and extra measures are not in the trades defined price and are funded by Gli Sport contingency monies on the project (Ghorbani, 2017).
3.2 Flooring Installation
After the site “stand-up “has been completed, timber flooring specialists will remain so a “stand-up” can occur as to expectations of the day and also the moisture content of the flooring. On each specific day, the moisture content will be evaluated as to how many boards will be laid before a two-millimetre expansion gap will need to be added.
The reason for allowing a two-millimetre expansion gap is because timber expands and contracts, and if there are insufficient expansion gaps whilst the floor is curing the floor will lift, causing large humps in the floor, which prevents the removable walls from operating and meeting strategic visions of Gli.
After the flooring has been laid, the floor will be lightly sanded. A “stand-up” will occur as to the grit in the sandpaper to be used. Once the floor has been sanded the document completed in the planning phase for line marking can be instigated. Following this document is critical due to the different court use, being a multi-purpose sporting facility.
- Project Closing
A project retrospective will be completed with all trades, project managers, and stakeholders in attendance (Nelson, 2008). These discussions will be open and honest as to how constant improvement can occur. A result-driven mindset, alongside an ever-improving culture of learning, will be at the forefront of Gli Sport.
References
Achieveit. (2019). 3 Change Management Steps You Can’t Ignore. Retrieved from http://www.achieveit.com
AFTA. (2019). Pre-Installation Requirements. Retrieved from http://www.afta.com.au ds2_pre_installation_requirements.pdf
Al Behairi, T. A. (2016). AGISTRUCT: an improved model for agile construction project management. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2016—EMEA, Barcelona, Spain. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Aziz, E. E. (2015). Project closing: the small process group with big impact. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2015—EMEA, London, England. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Billows, D. (2018). Stakeholder Management in Four Steps. Retrieved from http://www.4pm.com
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