WOODY 2000 PROJECT

Proposal for Woody 2000 Project



Proposal for Woody 2000 Project

Introduction

This paper explores the concept of project management in a holistic context. This projec t is based on Custom Woodworking Company which is a small-to-medium sized custom furniture and cabinet making company, with head-office and a spacious plant site at Industrial Estates, Someplace, BC.  The Custom Woodworking Company At the meeting, the total cost of the work, not including office renovation, was roughly estimated at $17 million. Woody agreed to commit the company to a budget of $17 million as an absolute maximum for all proposed work and the target date for production would be eighteen months from now.

Generally, project management is distinguished from the general management of corporations by the mission-oriented nature of a project. A project organization will generally be terminated when the mission is accomplished. According to the Project Management Institute, the discipline of project management can be defined as follows:

''Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope, cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction''(Kerzner, 2009: 149-151).

By contrast, the general management of business and industrial corporations assumes a broader outlook with greater continuity of operations. Nevertheless, there are sufficient similarities as well as differences between the two so that modern management techniques developed for general management may be adapted for project management.

The basic ingredients for a project management framework may be represented schematically in Figure -1. A working knowledge of general management and familiarity with the special knowledge domain related to the project are indispensable. Supporting disciplines such as computer science and decision science may also play an important role. The representation in Figure -1 reflects only the sources from which the project management framework evolves.

Figure 1:  Basic Ingredients in Project Management

Specifically, project management in construction encompasses a set of objectives which may be accomplished by implementing a series of operations subject to resource constraints. There are potential conflicts between the stated objectives with regard to scope, cost, time and quality, and the constraints imposed on human material and financial resources(Wysocki, 2011: 47). These conflicts should be resolved at the onset of a project by making the necessary tradeoffs or creating new alternatives(Martin, 2010: 235).

Major Tasks to Be Carried Out

Schedule Inputs

You need several types of inputs for the company to create a project schedule:

Personal and project calendars - Understanding working days, shifts, and resource availability is critical to completing a project schedule.

Description of project scope - From this, you can determine key start and end dates, major assumptions behind the plan, and key constraints and restrictions. You can also include stakeholder expectations, which will often determine project milestones.

Project risks - You need to understand these to make sure there's enough extra time to deal with identified risks - and with unidentified risks (risks are identified with thorough Risk Analysis).

Lists of activities and resource requirements - Again, it's important to determine if there ...