Project Scope Planning, Essay Example

Scope Planning

A project is by definition a temporary endeavor to produce a unique deliverable at the conclusion of the endeavor. In order to understand what is to be delivered at the end of a project there must be boundaries and guidelines established to set the parameters or scope of the project. Defining scope is the process of determining a common understanding of what the project will include in or exclude out of the final deliverable. Scope management is a key success factor in completing any project. If scope is not managed correctly, the requirements and deliverables may fluctuate so much that the original intention of the project may never be met and could result in a fail project attempt. As any project progresses through the phases, the intricacies and details of the project gain clarity. This is where the art of project management dances with the scientific project management methodology to build and execute a project.

Scope will initially be established at a high and definitive manner in the beginning of the project and the areas of uncertainty such as technological constraints, resource allocations, and other areas that may only become visible as the project proceeds on will require contingency resources to be allocated and mitigation plans to defer risk will need to be established. If the scope of the project is not properly established in the beginning of the project extraneous and potential project risk are injected in the project life cycle through scope creep. Scope creep slips into the project when the perception of the initial scope is not congruent between stakeholders of the project. Assumptions made by either the project team or the key recipients of the project deliverables could create undue hardship if the scope was clearly defined. Clearly defining a scope statement helps eliminate confusion and provides a clear direction for the project team to execute toward.

The larger the project, the more imperative it is to clearly define the scope of the project. The project I am going to focus on is the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) program across multiple business sectors in a large U.S. based manufacturing company. The reason I chose this project is due to the inherent complexity of the project which is managed through setting upfront scope expectations and also due to the fact that many U.S. companies are exploring opportunities to become more efficient and effective through the use of ERP systems (Kanaracus 2012).

Considering the potential size and complexity of implementing a project that is purported to reduce complexity, improve efficiency, remove communication barriers and provide real-time or near real-time user feedback it is important to determine which type of scope statement that will need to be utilized. There are multiple types of scope statements that could be used as a template in developing the appropriate statement for the project in question. My focus is to develop a definition of the functionality that will be delivered at the end of the project. With the manufacturing company there are four areas that require a potential iteration of the ERP system to be implemented. These areas include sourcing, materials, finance and suppliers. The scope of the project I am creating the scope statement for includes aspects of all of these areas but will start in the procurement of goods from a supplier to the payment for those goods to the supplier once they are received. This is a wing to wing process that involves every aspect products lifecycle. The first place to start is the project name. This is “Implement a procure-to-pay ERP program to create a simplified and agile manufacturing environment”. Next is where project success and failure could ultimately be derived.

The ERP program will incorporate new software programs with revitalized business processes to eliminate antiquated legacy software and fully integrate our disparate systems across our business functions. The integrated system will provide one version of the truth and allow the data provided by multiple business functions to become usable information for business decisions. This brings sourcing, manufacturing, finance and the suppliers into the same system which eliminates extraneous efforts to bring the right people together. The project will focus on each finished good product and will be implemented in an iterative process with the foundation built through the first implementation. The project will include the implementation of the ERP system encompassing the process from procurement of the input good to the payment of the vendor based finished good model. The initial implementation will require eighteen months and each subsequent rollout will require three months to integrate into the new system.

Justify Project Planning

Defining the scope of a project does not make it a success. The project must have a set of achievable goals and provide a benefit to those with a stake in the outcome of the project. Providing validity and clearly stating why a project is important to the stakeholders allows the purpose to be highly visible and not come into question later in the project. The purpose of an ERP system is to increase productivity, streamline communication between functions, both internal and external, and facilitate decision making abilities of leadership by providing accurate and reliable information. The ERP project will provide a single source system that allows communication and business actions to take place in the same system among multiple business functions (Monk 2009).

Review with Project Manager

Once I decided to work on an ERP project it was important to find a project manager that was not only competent in project management but also had knowledge of ERP and implementing the project on a large scale basis. Through digging through my contacts I found an old friend that worked as a project manager in IT. He had worked on an early implementation of an Oracle based ERP program that switched from a home grown legacy system to an Accounts Payable module. The initial conversation was around why implement an ERP based project and then only utilize a small portion of the overall ability of the system. The initial response was based on fulfilling the need of a failing system that had become too burdensome to maintain and could not be scaled appropriately to meet the forecasted business needs. The tools the Oracle based system provided met their requirements and provided a potential full system implementation in the future if wanted by their corporation. This provide a negotiation leverage for the purchasing company because Oracle knew that if they could provide a module of their overall program the likelihood of future business increased exponentially due to current implementation of the Accounts Payable module.

The most important guidance that the project manager provided was that it was important to keep an eye on the intricacies that lie within the integration between legacy systems and legacy business processes. The implementation of a new and different business process changes not only how people interact within the systems but also how work is conducted outside of the system. Early adoption and clearly defining the purpose and benefits of the project facilitate project success. With this information it was clear that delineating between different finished goods could help eliminate a majority of overlap between business functions until the full project rollout was accomplished. The remaining business overlap would require oversight and training to ensure the business functions working in both systems could manage their workloads in both legacy and new systems. The scope would define the overall goals of the project but the management of the project through the multiple iterations would require risk mitigation and project control.

Project Scope and Planning Details

The scope how now been defined as the implementation of the procurement to payment process for the manufacturing company based on the finished good model. This limits the risk potential of implementing too large of an ERP project but also includes enough of the business to make a significant positive impact to the business unit (Magal 2011). The scope is also limited to the procurement to payment process and does not include sales, cost accounting, sourced goods or other operations not defined in the scope statement. The scope of the project has defined what we expect to deliver at the different tollgates defined by time parameters. The process of defining the scope of the project would, in reality, require the input of the subject matter experts to conduct a workout session to determine initially how the large project could be divided and implemented based upon how the legacy operations are operated and their unique dependencies and requirements. The experts would provide insight into the details required to make the business decisions with the information available at the time. This also provides a sense of involvement and can provide that much needed support that is required when requesting changes to current business processes. Also, with any large implementation there are growing pains along the way and the leadership buy-in will help drive the results and lead to a successful project completion (Prencipe 2007).

The project life-cycle starts in the initiation phase where the scope is determined and sets the project on its journey to completion. During the initiation phase the project stakeholders establish how the project will be measured and what success looks like (Project Management Institute 2008). With the scope determined and what success looks like the project has materialized into an executable set of actions that will be guided by the project manager through the project lifecycle. The potential for failure is ever present in any project but when the scale and unknowns increase so does the potential for failure. The largest potential for failure for the ERP project is not involving the right people at the right time. Understanding what needs to be accomplished is very important but also understanding how it will be accomplished is also vitally important. When interviewing and involving key stakeholders the key for the project team is to understand why people are performing certain aspects of their job so that the “why” of their actions can be transferred to the new system and business processes without the negative implications of the legacy processes they are currently utilizing.

The project charter will establish the authority to start a project and utilize the limited resources of the company to fulfill a need of the company. The charter provides a clear and concise summation of the purpose of the project, its benefits, objectives, what success looks like, deliverables and a list of the key stakeholders associated with the project. This is the one stop shop for all the projects top level details. This document could be reviewed at any point in the project to baseline the team and re-establish the project baseline if scope requirements are creeping outside of their parameters.

Project Executive Summary

The executive summary will describe the justification of the project, the deliverables and the overall objectives. There will be a clear description of what the project entails as well as what will be required for a successful implementation. The ERP implementation will roll out in four distinctive and iterative phases. The first phase will require eighteen months for implementation of the business processes and associated software to conduct business. This is the foundation phase of the project and will require the heaviest front end effort to gather requirements, perform gap analysis and solution the issues for the rollout into the new system. After implementation of the initial phase the three remaining models will roll-out in three month iterations and will rely upon the groundwork established in the initial phase for success. The project team should remain intact throughout all phases of the project to retain continuity and expertise.

The scope is to implement the initial ERP business processes and technology system including the activities for procurement of the input goods to the payment of the vendor. The activities of quality management and those activities associated to the finished good models outside of their rollout schedule will not be included. The goals of each phase include the wing to wing activities to include: quoting, auctions, purchase agreements, release management, fulfillment, scheduling, part and finished good forecasting, invoicing, payments and reporting. Those activities outside of the core procurement to payment functions will remain in their current systems until they are implemented into the ERP project.

References

Cooper, D. F., Grey, S., Raymond, G., & Walker, P. (2005). Project risk management guidelines, managing risk in large projects and complex procurements. John Wiley & Sons.

Fleming, Q. W. (2003). Project procurement management: Contracting, subcontracting, teaming. (First ed.). Tustin: FMC Press.

Highsmith, J. A., & Highsmith, J. (2010). Agile project management, creating innovative products. Addison-Wesley Professional.

Kanaracus, C. (2012). Survey finds erp software project overruns ‘distressingly common’. Retrieved from http://www.cio.com/article/710777/Survey_Finds_ERP_Software_Project_Overruns_39_distressingly_Common_39_?taxonomyId=3009

Magal, S. R., & Word, J. (2011). Integrated business processes with erp systems. RRD/Jefferson City: Wiley.

Monk, E., & Wagner, B. (2009). Concepts in enterprise resource planning. (3 ed.). Boston, MA: Course Technology Cengage Learning.

Prencipe, A., Davies, A., & Hobday, M. (2007). The business of systems integration. Oxford University Press, USA.

Project Management Institute, P. M. (2008). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. (4th ed.). Newtown Square: Project Management Inst.