Table of Contents

Introduction...............................................................................................................................2
Factors influencing success of project management.........................................................2
Project life cycle and project management methodology.................................................4
Taunton warehouse project and Agile Project Management...........................................5
Project scope:.......................................................................................................................6
Project objectives:................................................................................................................7
Risk management:...............................................................................................................8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Project management it is used for achieving project objectives that are defined as
part of the project mandate. It is achieved by the coordination of various activities in
the project to achieve deliverables in in a given time period. The methodology e of
project management utilised for managing the project depends upon the knowledge,
skills, tools and techniques that are required for achieving the project deliverables.
The main aim of using a project management methodology is to avoid risk in the
management of the project and to ensure that the deliverables are achieved within
the specific time period and within the budget allocation. A project management
methodology consists of a set of best management practices, techniques,
procedures and methods that will be e beneficial for a project. In this current report
Agile project management practices will be discussed to evaluate the project life
cycle of Taunton warehouse project.

Project managers have the option of choosing different frameworks of project

management according to the desirability of managing a project. Prince 2, Lean,
Waterfall and PMBoK are some of the frameworks that are used by project
managers for managing projects.

Factors influencing success of project management

When managing a project it is important to understand the objectives of the project
and the final outcome expected from the project in order to adopt tools and
strategies that will be beneficial in the successful completion of the project. The
project mandate provided by the owner of the project after discussion with the
various stakeholders of the project will give details on project deliverables, project
schedules, budget allocations and the risk involved. Adopting project management
practices with proven techniques and tools is also important in achieving the
deliverables in the given period. The project manager should have a clear
understanding about the project objectives and depending upon the objectives to be
accomplished, a proper selection of management practices have to be adopted. In
order to ensure that tools and techniques that are utilised in the project management
methodology become successful, it is important to understand how these will
influence the project conditions and situations.

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The nine areas of knowledge related to the implementation of a project management
tool that should be taken care of to ensure that the project objectives are properly
accomplished by a project manager. The knowledge on project management tools
and techniques that are implemented at the various stages of the project will provide
better efficacy in the utilisation of different frameworks in achieving the goals of the
project

The primary knowledge is the project scope which is important in the evaluation of
implementation of project processes when the project is carried out. The scope of
the project provides information on the different activities to be carried out during the
project and it also helps in reducing redundant activities which may increase the
budget and time of a project. All the project activities which need to be e carried out
according to the schedule can be monitored if the project scope is properly
understood.

Communication is another important area that has to be managed to make project

successful. The dissemination of information to all levels in the project it is important
in the communication with the various stakeholders of the project is also crucial for
successful completion of project.

The knowledge area regarding risk management it is another important area which
will define the success of the project. Evaluating the risk and developing systematic
strategies for responding to the risk at the initial stage of project implementation will
help to minimise cash burden and it will reduce the chances of wastage of time.

Management of the human resource is another crucial area that has to be

considered when consulting project management. Human resource is most important
and the effective management of people within the project and proper allocation of
responsibilities is important for the success of project.

Procuring resources for managing the project is another knowledge area which is
most relevant. Allocating appropriate vendors and external parties to ensure that the
resources required for carrying out the project is delivered at the proper time will
avoid bottlenecks.

When projects are carried out on a time base the schedule it is important to
understand the time factor related to each stage of project development. This will

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help the project manager to develop a critical path that can avoid time consuming
stages which will affect the project schedule. Proper scheduling of activities within
the time frame will help project manager to evaluate the various activities and to
ensure that project activities are completed within time.

Any project will be running on proposed budget allocations and it is important to have
cost management strategies adventure that the budget is properly made.

Quality management is another area that has to be focused and the implementation
of proper quality management practices will help that the project will be e completed
with appropriate quality as perceived by the stakeholders.

The integration between the various project activities by coordinating all the
elements of the project is crucial for timely completion of the project. Communication
between various levels about the different elements of project activities is important.
Management of the stakeholders is another knowledge area that needs to be
considered for the successful completion of a project. Stakeholders of a project need
to be identified and their concerns have to be clearly understood. There are positive
stakeholders and negative stakeholders from government, non-governmental,
individual and group associations who should be considered evaluate the risk and
aspirations of each of the stakeholders in relation to the project undertaken.

Project life cycle and project management methodology

Every project will have a life cycle which includes all the phases of the project from
its initiation to its closure. Project management methodologies are selected by
project managers depending upon the ability of these strategies and methodologies
to successfully manage the life cycle of the project to achieve the best possible
outcome. Depending on the project that is handled by the use of methodology the
processes and techniques used in the management of project will differ and the
extent to which this practices adopted will also vary. Project deliverables, project size
and involvement required will also influence selection of methodology adopted. The
deliverables and expectation in the quality of the project will define the stages in the
project and will have an influence on the life cycle of the project. Project will have
project initiation, project planning, project execution and project closure as the basic
life cycle which is further managed through detailed frameworks according to the
requirement of project.
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Taunton warehouse project and Agile Project Management
The project involves operation of warehouse in Taunton, England for UK’s largest
food retailer Supermarket X. The client, Large Logistics Organisation has secured
contract for the operation of the 860,000 square feet of warehouse at Taunton and
the logistics activities involved in the management of the warehouse for Supermarket
X. The project involves closure and exiting of old warehouse locations and shifting to
the new location. The construction activities have to be completed by September
2020 and the reallocation of activities to this site. The recruitment and retention of
staff members are also part of this project. The client is responsible for the
management of the logistics activities and the need for installation of vehicle
maintenance unit and resource recovery unit is also part of this project.

Agile framework of project management is initially developed for managing software

related projects but is able to be used in any field because of the robust principles
used by the management methodology. The current report considers the use of Agile
Project Management Methodology for the management of the project. The
management framework breaks the whole project into small portions named
iterations which in itself is a time bound and outcome oriented portion of the whole
project. The completion of this iteration will enable the client to put in place the some
parts of the project objectives into implementation and this will help to develop
feedback from stakeholders. The Agile framework focuses on timescale of the
project and the enabling of competitive advantage of the customer. Agile focuses on
involvement of all stakeholders at every stage of project development and the
communication of project related information to ensure that technical excellence is
achieved all phases of project activities.

Agile project management is beneficial in maintaining the flexibility and risk

management with greater efficacy. The Agile framework kicks off with SCRUM
project which is divided into small iterations. These iterations have time intervals and
are called SPRINTS. The SPRINT planning is done during the meeting of SCRUM
project. During the activation of SPRINT, stakeholders and executives from the
different segments in the project work together towards accomplishing the goal of the
SPRINT in the small interval. Daily Stand-up is the communication strategy used in
AGILE framework to ensure communication between the team members working in
the project. The daily 15 minutes meeting gives information on, what was done last

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day, what will be done during the day and details regarding the help required from
other team members on the completion of activities. This information will be
communicated to the stakeholders. SPRINT review meeting will help the evaluation
of the completion.

Project scope:
The project undertaken by the client includes managing the warehouse for
Supermarket X which is the leading food retail business operators in UK.
Requirement for managing all the activities within the warehouse and the
transportation required for the logistics activities is part of the project. The
construction activities required for maintaining the warehouses have to be completed
and moving five operations of production, chill and frozen into the warehouse after
closing the current locations is also part of the project. In order to enable the logistic
competency of catering to the needs of the customer vehicle maintenance unit have
to be set up. Scheduling and routing of logistic operations to cater to the
requirements of the warehouse and undertaking administrative back-office functions
are also part of the project. The different stakeholders involved in this project and
there is a variety of operations to be handled. The construction activities for the
warehouse are important for relocating and organising all the other logistic activities
mentioned in the project objectives. It is important to consider that the project can be
broken down into time intervals for the quick completion of each iteration. Each
SPRINT when completed will provide opportunity for the new SPRINTs to be
initiated.

Project objectives:
Understanding the project objectives is important for planning the project
management stages. Recruiting employees for the warehouse is an objective that
has to be carried out by the client. The customer is focused on retaining some of the
trained talents and hence retention of most of the management professionals from
the old sites is important. Recruiting and training new drivers and vehicle
maintenance operators for the management of the warehouse activities of the
company is also part of the project objective. Migration of frozen, chill and ambient
facilities from the old locations to the new warehouse location at Taunton is part of
the project objective. Vehicle maintenance unit have to be set up Android resource
recovery unit also have to be started at the new warehouse. The complete shifting of

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activities from the old sites to the new warehouse and their closure is a part of
project objective.

Agile management practice focuses on developing integrated testing of the project

activities in a sequential manner by adding value at each delivery of project stages.
To achieve these project activities of construction is divided into systems,
subsystems and components in line with SPRINT principle of Agile management
framework. The each component of construction activities of the warehouse is tested
and handed over to the operations according to the small time intervals that is
developed for each activity. This will enable the operations to father initiate activities
of shifting old operations from old sites to the warehouse facility.

Communication is an important part of Agile framework and daily operation between

the different stakeholders and developers of the project. In the warehouse project the
people involved in the project are from different technical and management
backgrounds and proper communication can be achieved through and integrated
team functioning which should be embedded in the project management from the
first day onwards. Status of the project activities and progress meetings has to be
carried out effectively and all the stakeholders should be given adequate information.
Agile management practices focuses on motivated individuals and hence it is
important to consider team environment which can be e used for ensuring the
progress and achievement of the milestones in the project.

Agile framework project management focuses on sustainable development and

maintaining constant page in the project activities. In order to achieve this in the
project it is important to to ensure that well trained workforce is handling the resource
management and scheduling activities. Specific knowledge of handling the project
and knowledge in the site awareness will enhance the quality and productivity of the
project activities. In the current project delays in the project can be minimised by
ensuring that all the human resource involved in the project remains productive why
integration of activities even when delay in materials or design inputs are faced.

Project designs have to be excellent to enhance outcome of the project and hence
continuous attention towards designs, specifications and work instructions have to
be given in Agile framework. The project ensures that best possible designs with
simple instructions where provided so that delay in implementations due to questions

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and confusion regarding designs was considered. The defining from the initial stages
where plant at waste production and appropriate resource management to reduce
the cost of construction and project activities.

Regular monitoring and reflection understand delays and to maintain effectiveness is

considered in Agile framework. In the project during the meetings conducted weekly
the progress where monitor and the lessons learnt where discussed among with the
managers to eliminate barriers that may cause delay and to develop better
communication and fostering support for finishing of activities.

Risk management:
The primary risk management for the project is related to the resource allocation
required for completion of the warehouse facility. Closing down of operations from
the other sites and restarting the operation in the present warehouse is another risk
involved. The customer is focused on achieving the project objective without
hampering the activities of various stores that cater to the needs of the end users.
Hence it is important to understand the coordination of logistic activities and resource
recovery activities effectively plan the shifting of chill, frozen and ambient facilities to
new warehouse from old sites with out disturbing logistic activities.

Conclusion
Taunton warehouse project involves a series of activities that may have different
stakeholders and different level of management involving in the process. This
requires each project activity to be carefully understood and put into action to obtain
the final objectives. To ensure that the end users are not affected by the project
activities it is important to break down the project stages in small intervals and
ensure that each stage is accomplished before the next stage is initiated. It is
interesting to understand that this project involves construction, recruitment,
Logistics, recovery and maintenance activities which should be properly integrated to
achieve the final objectives.

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References

1. Martinelli, R.J. and Milosevic, D.Z., 2016. Project management toolbox: tools

and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons.
2. Binder, J., 2016. Global project management: communication, collaboration
and management across borders. Routledge.

3. Meredith, J.R., Mantel Jr, S.J. and Shafer, S.M., 2017. Project management:
a managerial approach. John Wiley & Sons.
4. Turner, R., 2016. Gower handbook of project management. Routledge.
5. Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems
approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.
6. Conforto, E.C. and Amaral, D.C., 2016. Agile project management and stage-
gate model—A hybrid framework for technology-based companies. Journal of
Engineering and Technology Management, 40, pp.1-14.
7. Conforto, E.C., Salum, F., Amaral, D.C., da Silva, S.L. and de Almeida,
L.F.M., 2014. Can agile project management be adopted by industries other
than software development?. Project Management Journal, 45(3), pp.21-34.
8. altexsoft. (2015). Agile Project Management: Best Practices and
Methodologies. Available: https://www.altexsoft.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/04/Agile-Project-Management.-Best-Practices-and-
Methodologies-AltexSoft-Whitepaper.pdf. Last accessed 4th May 2018.

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Appendices

Project Life Cycle

Figure: Project Life Cycle

Figure 2: Agile Framework Development Cycle

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Figure 3: Agile Framework iteration detail

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