Assessment 1 – Written or Oral Questions

1. When establishing your project, how might you:

a. Identify project objectives

Your work-project objectives may need to comply with instructions from a superior in your
company. While upper management is more likely to pass along goals, which the objectives
you identify will need to address, in some cases you may need to identify objectives that
satisfy superiors. This may be the case with objectives that produce tangible results that a
business can present to its investors. It may also take the form of an objective that an owner
suggests or agrees to as a means of gauging a project's success, rather than attempting to
assess the project based on abstract goals.

These are five general categories that project objectives fall into:
1. Strategic Objectives
These objectives strive to achieve the overall goal set for the project by the relevant
stakeholders. It is generally up to the project manager and team leaders to define
these more specific objectives once the goal has been set.
2. Performance Objectives
These are project objectives geared towards measuring the processes and function of
your team. They are often ongoing goals that apply to all projects and the data
gathered can be used to improve the productivity of the whole organization.
3. Financial Objectives
Projects cost money but are also generally about making money as well, thus financial
objectives are those that are concerned with the monetary ins and outs of a specific
project.
4. Regulatory Objectives
Being aware of a project’s impact in terms of these requirements can often be
overlooked but are nevertheless an important consideration for a project manager.
5. Effectiveness Objectives
By setting specific objectives to this end, it gives the organization an opportunity to
monitor its processes and identify possibilities for productivity gains.

b. Negotiate project objectives, outcomes and benefits with stakeholders

In negotiating with the stakeholder, you need to prepare and plan your business case.
Thoroughly scope your project and determine the required resources, estimated time and
costs so everyone is clear about what your objectives are and what it’s going to cost the
business. You should also identify your stakeholders, who has an interest in your project or
initiative and who will be affected by its deliverables and outputs? Who is an influencer,
decision maker or interested party? Profile the needs, motivators, interests and concerns of
these stakeholders. Now you have identified your key stakeholders, consider the best
 communication approach for each of them. Adapting your communication style to match
theirs is essential to being heard and receiving a more favourable response. Before you meet
with your stakeholders, clarify a shared and measurable set of expectations. Being clear on
intention, that is, knowing what your goals and objectives are and what you need from your
prospective stakeholders, is a key aspect to successfully influencing the outcome. You may
not be able to influence others in one conversation, but don’t give up. Don’t let objections or
conflict stand in your way of achieving desired goals and outcomes. Revisit the steps and be
prepared to have several conversations, and keep fine tuning your influencing skills.

c. Negotiate project governance structure with relevant authorities and stakeholders?

The communication plan needs to be developed once all the stakeholders have been
identified and their interests and expectations have been defined. A well-formulated
communication plan delivers concise, efficient and timely information to all pertinent
stakeholders.

Once the communication plan is identified, the project manager needs to ensure that there
is a right balance of meetings and reporting. This needs to be defined to ensure that each
stakeholder understands the mode and content of communication, frequency,
owner/receiver, communication milestones and decision gates. In addition, communication
needs to be crisp, precise and to the point.

2. What project documentation is required in the initiation stages of a project? Provide an example
of one of the documents. (10 marks)

Many tools and forms of documentation are used - and specifically needed during the initiation
phase of the project. This is a critical time where getting a project started right is imperative if you
hope to end it successfully. What I want to discuss here are various forms of documentation,
communication and planning that are required or suggested for projects. Obviously, how much of
this planning, formalization and documentation work your team does is somewhat dependent on
five things: Timeframe available, budget available, size of the project, your own company's PM
methodology, and the demands of the customer or project client.

One example of documentation required in the initiation stage of a project is feasibility analysis.
It is designed to determine whether or not, given the project environment, a project will be
successful - but keep in mind there is no perfect predictor of project success that exists in the
world! A feasibility analysis may be conducted for a project with an emphasis on financial viability,
environmental integrity, cultural acceptability, or political practicability. It is a determination as
to the likelihood of success and a description of how that determination was achieved.

3. What information is contained in the project charter and what is the procedure you could use for
obtaining approval from relevant authorities? (10 marks)

A project charter may contain the following information:

4. Explain the processes and procedures you would undertake to establish the project management
plan. (10 marks)

Step 1: Identify & Meet with Stakeholders

Meet with the project sponsors and key stakeholders to discuss their needs and
expectations, and establish baselines for project scope, budget, and timeline. Then create
a Scope Statement document to finalize and record project scope details, get everyone
on the same page, and reduce the chances of costly miscommunication.

Step 2: Set & Prioritize Goals

Once you have a list of stakeholder needs, prioritize them and set specific project goals.
These should outline project objectives, or the metrics and benefits you hope to achieve.

Step 3: Define Deliverables

Identify the deliverables and project planning steps required to meet the project's goals.
Next, estimate due dates for each deliverable in your project plan.

Step 4: Create the Project Schedule

Look at each deliverable and define the series of tasks that must be completed to
accomplish each one. For each task, determine the amount of time it will take, the
resources necessary, and who will be responsible for execution.

Step 5: Identify Issues and Complete a Risk Assessment

When developing a project plan, you should know how to manage risk in a project and
consider the steps you should take to either prevent certain risks from happening, or limit
their negative impact. Conduct a risk assessment and develop a risk management strategy
to make sure you're prepared.

Step 6: Present the Project Plan to Stakeholders

Make your project plan clear and accessible to all stakeholders so they don’t have to chase
you down for simple updates. Housing all project plan data in a single location, like a
 collaboration tool, makes it easy to track progress, share updates, and make edits without
filling your calendar with meetings.

5. What issues might you encounter whilst executing the project in an established internal work
environment and how could you resolve this issues? (10 marks)

Here are some challenges/issues encountered whilst executing the project and how to resolve
them:
a. Keeping Teams on The Same Page
Every project includes a schedule and a team working for that project. Stay on top of
your schedule and know what’s coming up with calendar views. Know who works on
what part and get notified of tasks moving from one stage to another, keeping
everyone together.
b. Unrealistic Deadlines
Project managers can take care of the project deadlines and other related issues with
impeccable planning, alternative analysis and proper communication of the real-time
progress to project participants and other key decision-makers. Plan your events,
manage your schedule, and keep track of important dates with a project calendar.
c. Insufficient Team Skills
Document the core set of skills needed to accomplish the workload and analyze the
strengths and weaknesses of the team members. If required, train them to enhance
their knowledge and end the skill gaps.
d. Challenges of Teamwork
The best way to eliminate any issues or negativity in a team is to create a positive
work environment. Build trust in the workplace to break down barriers and establish
interpersonal relationships.

6. Create a full and accurate project initiation document and scope statement for an upcoming
project of your choice. (25 marks)

Matcha Coffee Shop

Project Summary
This coffee shop is intended to be a wonderful place for friends and family meetings, for workers and
professionals releasing stresses. The shop also offers “all in one” service consisting of books, arcade games
and a lot of occasional vouchers and discounts which will definitely attract a large customer base.

The coffee shop will suit customers who want to experience a new taste of high quality blended matcha
coffee. The coffee shop size is estimated around 40 square feet with fitted sitting areas and tables and
can host up to 50 customers. The coffee shop will also provide customers with free Wi-Fi, books and
arcade games.
Project Scope

Business Need
Melbourne – a traditional but luxurious city in Austrial- is famous with a wide range of nicely brewed
coffee shops. With the long tradition of drinking coffee, the introduction of a new kind of smooth drink
like matcha (green tea) is believed to create a fresh image for the city. As a result, Matcha Coffee Shop is
established with the purpose of becoming a frequently must-come place for local people who love or even
addict to matcha and coffee consumption as well as Japanese culture. This coffee shop is intended to be
a wonderful place for friends and family meetings, for workers and professionals releasing stresses. The
shop also offers “all in one” service consisting of books, arcade games and a lot of occasional vouchers
and discounts which will definitely attract a large customer base. With the increasingly high demand for
quality green tea products and services, Matcha will take an advantage of renting a place at the centre of
Melbourne so as to build up a pool of repeat customers. Matcha will deliver to its customers the best
brewed cups of Matcha together with cakes, waffles, ice cream and other free compliments.

Opportunity Statement
Statistical data have shown great opportunities for coffee shop start-up. According to Mintel
Coffee UK August 2014 Report, two thirds of consumers purchase coffee or hot drinks in coffee
shops. Another Mintel report (2014) on coffee further states that around 19% of out-of-home
coffee purchasers prefer coffee shops that have unique products on sale and the age group 16-
14 is mostly likely to not drink coffee out of home at all, suggesting coffee shops widen their
menus on non-caffeinated drinks to broaden the appeal amongst those specific consumers. The
project team has also conducted a research on demand of young people for Asian drinks made
from green tea powder and received positive feedbacks. The analyst from the project team has
also noticed that there are relatively few coffee shops that offer Japanese drinks and pastry
related to matcha in Melbourne. With such opportunities, Matcha coffee shop project has been
initialised.

Project Goal
To lease a premises and set up the shop with needed assets and decorations.

Project objectives

The main objectives of Matcha Coffee Shop during the first year of running are:
- To be ranked top in most of websites, forums for foodies.
- To be selected as the “Best Matcha Shop” in Melbourne.
- Achieve profits from the third month of operations.
- Maintain profit margins above 65% annually.
Project Benefits
- To promote new, unique types of hot and cold drinks
- To bring the Japanese culture closer to Londoners
- To provide customers with a unique, cosy and comfortable place for meetings or tasting drinks

Project Considerations
- Strong competition with branded coffee shops or fast food chains selling coffee and hot drinks
- Not everybody is familiarised with Asian drinks and thus might not be willing to try
- Saturated market for coffee drinks
- High prices for ingredients and thus products will be a bit more expensive than normal drinks
are
- Ecological impact on the environment, such as utilising more plastic cups causes more waste
being produced