Project Management And Risk Assignment Sample

Project Management And Risk Assignment Sample

Introduction of Project Management And Risk Assignment

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Task 1

Type of project

The type of project indicates the project classification that can be defined during the implementation. It is also able to specify the essential project attributes and helps to determine the project costs as well. Based on the provided case study, it is quite clear that the type of this project is a manufacturing project as a new piece of equipment will be developed here for using medical purposes. There is a strong need to complete the project successfully in order to gain such effective outcomes.

Important drivers of the project

Important drivers or the key drivers of a project are those who are responsible for executing each of the project's activities appropriately. They are also responsible for the successful project delivery as their participation and creative mindset help to develop high innovations also. From the viewpoint of Spieth et al. (2019), project drivers are those who take such responsibilities as well as accountabilities for each type of project deliverables. In order to ensure day-to-day team management, the project drivers are responsible for maintaining the quality standard regarding delivered work and severely determining the project execution process. In order to identify the important drivers for the aforementioned project, Stakeholder analysis can be taken under consideration.

Focusing on the below figure, a clear overview of "Power/ Interest Grid for stakeholder Prioritization" has been gained. In the position which will be allocated to the stakeholders on the grid, the necessary actions need to be undertaken to keep them engaged with the project.

 Power/ Interest Grid for stakeholder Prioritization

High power, high-interest

Project drivers or the stakeholders who are included in this group need to be managed closely. Based on the existing project, it can be stated that the higher authority of GE Healthcare and the project manager are mainly included here and it is essential to keep them satisfied as well. The suppliers are also included here who will be responsible for the delivery of the required raw materials in an accurate cost structure.

High power, low-interest

Stakeholders who are included in this grid need to be kept satisfied whereas it is essential to keep in mind not to bore them with frequent massages (Nguyen and Mohamed, 2018). In the case of the project to develop a piece of equipment for medical purposes, project drivers such as the UK government and the city council are included here.

Low power, high interest

These stakeholders need to be kept informed in order to avoid any types of errors within the project. Project drivers such as project workers are included in this group and it is essential for the project manager to guide them properly to ensure the successful execution of project works.

Low power, low-interest

Customers are mainly included in this group and these people need to be monitored properly in order to identify if they get the required facility or not.

Effectiveness of project

The planning of this project needs to be appropriate enough as, through this project, it will be possible to provide more hassle-free services to the patients. In this case, a new piece of equipment will be developed that helps to lift up patients in and out of the bed. The equipment is being procured mainly from the supplier although the individual is not on the “approved-suppler list”. This type of development can be beneficial enough for replacing the patients without creating any scope of facing trouble or pain. In this context, it can be stated that the project has strong importance not only for GE Healthcare whereas for the entire healthcare industry of the UK.

Choice of project lifecycles

Project lifecycle includes the most essential steps that are required for the project managers in order to manage an entire project successfully from start to end. Different types of project life cycles are there such as “Predictive life cycle” or the “Fully plan-driven life cycle”, “Iterative and Incremental life cycle”, and “Adaptive life cycle”. For this project, it is essential to use the “Predictive life cycle” through which it is possible to deal with the major constraints of a project such as a scope, time along with cost. The planning will be done in a detailed manner such as from the collection of raw materials up to the use of the equipment for serving patients more easily. High-level planning will be conducted here whereas this method is quite traditional to select (Kabanda, 2020). There can be a strong concern for the actual relevancy of this project lifecycle.

The agile life cycle can also be relevant for this project to ensure successful project execution and it is the core combination of the “Iterative and Incremental life cycle”. From the viewpoint of Wilson et al. (2018), the agile life cycle is relevant enough to help the project teams for delivering innovative features along with a higher level of predictability. This type of aspect is suitable enough to develop sufficient project value.

Agile life cycle

With the help of the agile life cycle, it will also be possible to measure the progress of project activities severely and in case of any errors, it will be possible to detect them easily to avoid any types of big mishaps in the future (Wilson et al. 2018). There is also a strong scope to collect feedback from clients and change the relevant perspectives in case of any required changes.

Suitable methodology

Methodology in project planning is the system of practices, procedures, techniques, and rules that are used to conduct project activities in a disciplined way. In order to conduct this project such as to introduce the new piece of equipment in the healthcare industry, the lean methodology can be used. It is also relevant enough for manufacturing purposes in order to maximize the value of the project and also minimizing the waste (Cohen, 2018). The 3Ms such as muda, muri, and mura are included in it through which it can possible for GE Healthcare to ensure more efficient workflow within the project.

 Lean methodology

Project budget

A budget plan has been provided below to avoid the over-budget issue for GE Healthcare for this project. It is essential to identify each type of cost structure associated with the introduction of the piece of equipment and it can be relevant to manage entire consequences more suitably.

Table 1: Project budget

(Source: Self-developed)

Outline of timeline

 Gantt chart

 Gantt chart

The above timeline is designed based on the 5 phases of the project lifecycle, which are the planning, initiation, and controlling, monitoring, executing and closing phases. The respective phases are used for the project managers as through these phases, and it becomes easier to manage the project efficiently. Initiating phase is the first phase where the important tasks that are performed are discussing the project scope and project objectives. The second phase is the planning phase, where the important tasks that are performed are making a management plan of the project and work breakdown structure. The product deliverables are producers and the budged tar allocated in this phase, whereas in the next phase, correction is done by tracking the activities. In the final phase, the achievement is acknowledged along with delivering the project to the client.

Task 2

Risk assessment plan

The development of a risk assessment plan is effective enough to describe how a particular project can be able to manage the risks, estimate impacts, and predict the risks accurately. A risk assessment has been also developed here for the new project of GE Healthcare in order to aware the project workers of upcoming risks.

Table 2: Risk assessment

(Source: Self-developed)

Based on the above-conducted risk assessment, it is clear enough that the project of GE Healthcare has a high concern for facing above mentioned risks while proceeding. The risk of the “procurement of equipment” needs to be taken under consideration very sincerely as its impact can be high enough. Risk of procurement can be observed for several reasons such as if GE Healthcare cannot be able to find out the relevant supplier. In this case, it is already observed that the organization has selected the supplier from whom the equipment will be procured is already out of the “approved supplier list”. This type of context can be responsible to enhance the level of non-compliance activities as well as error-prone processing of the entire work process. The level of “disorganized vendor management” will also enhance in this regard (Aghajanian, 2018). In order to mitigate this risk factor, the presence of appropriate legal contracts with the supplier and also the adoption of a "robust sourcing vendor strategy" can be relevant enough. Different types of performance metrics can be used in this regard to measure the performance level of the selected supplier to ensure effective project benefits. The project manager and the higher authority of this firm are mainly responsible for this risk.

Maintenance risk is also observed in this context and it can be observed only when the management of GE Healthcare will not be able to ensure accurate maintenance. The presence of a "stringent maintenance schedule" will be relevant enough in this aspect to gain severe outcomes. The management of this firm along with the project managers is mainly responsible for this risk factor. A particular cost structure is also essential in this regard to ensure proper maintenance of the new equipment (Aghajanian, 2018). The presence of training risk needs to be taken under consideration as well whereas it has moderate impacts. The project manager is mainly responsible for this type of risk and it needs to be resolved as early as possible. In this case, it is essential to ensure appropriate training schedules for the individuals to enhance their level of knowledge regarding the work process. The behavioral management theory can be taken under consideration here through which it will be possible to identify the dimensions of work of the individuals clearly (Huang et al. 2021). In refer to this theoretical aspect, it is essential for the project manager to influence the workers for improvising group dynamics to ensure the successful execution of this project.

The project of GE Healthcare is mainly associated with technological advancements such as to lift of patients in and out of bed. In this regard, it is necessary enough to have such ability to adapt the project activities effectively and execute them properly to gain such positive outcomes. It will also be beneficial if the workers have such experience in manufacturing projects that can be fruitful to ensure the quality potential through the project activities (Huang et al. 2021). The presence of accurate knowledge and experience within the individuals can be effective for a better implementation of the equipment severely. Thus, from the entire section, it is quite clear that the risk factors need to be managed accurately in order to gain such effective outcomes.

Recommendations on the type of contract

Contract type within a project indicates the fact that there is the presence of legally binding agreements between two or more legal entities. There are several types of contracts within a project such as the “Fixed price contract” (FP), “Time and Material Contract” (T&M), and “Cost-Reimbursable contract” (CR). For the project of GE Healthcare, the “Fixed price contract” (FP) can be used by this firm with its supplier who will be responsible to procure the equipment for this firm. Under this contract, solid maturity, as well as clarity from both sides, can be gained. As stated by Krancher and Stürmer (2018), the FP contract is able to provide such benefits regarding “certainty of costs” and the presence of a concrete budget is also well gained. Thus, from this context, it is clear enough that with the help of the FP contract, the organization can be able to maintain the cost of procurement even after purchasing it from an out of the “approved suppliers list”. In this aspect, it can be evaluated that the concern of having an unknown supplier can also be mitigated with the help of this contract severely.

Maximum profit will also be gained with the help of an FP contract and it can also be possible to mitigate the risk of the over budget issue. Another contract that can also be taken under consideration here is the “Cost-Reimbursable contract” as this type of contract is frequently used in the case of new research as well as development (Benítez-Ávila et al. 2018). The introduction of new equipment in the healthcare industry of the UK needs to be gained such importance. With the help of the CR contract, it can be possible to gain such effective outcomes in this context. Moreover, it will also be possible to reduce the project cost severely and it is most beneficial for GE Healthcare as manufacturing projects can require high-cost structure in different verticals. From the above discussion, it can be evaluated that both of the contracts are useful for GE Healthcare regarding its new project whereas the “Fixed price contract” is more beneficial.

Options for training and maintenance

The services that are provided by the healthcare are getting better training due to the implementation of the medical equipment. The equipment is the introduction of devices responsible for uplifting patients from their beds and getting them in bed. Irrespective of such kind of advancement, struggles are faced due to the poor maintenance of the equipment in the hospitals. As stated by Chan et al. (2019), there are different options that can be used for maintaining the devices, such as coordinating service schedules, obtaining manufacturer support, and arranging for renewal parts. The inspection of the device performance and tracking of the requirements of the service is part of coordinating service schedules which can be done. Such kinds of activities are needed to be done only when biomedical engineers have to grasp the equipment across facilities. In addition to this, biomedical engineers have the capability of diagnosing the issues faced by equipment and thereafter troubleshooting them.

The medical technicians are seen to be lacking familiarity, and at that particular time, there is a need for manufacturer support. As argued by Dacheng et al. (2022), the manufacturer of the equipment is contacted such that they can resolve the issues faced by the equipment, which is the reason beyond the creation of another problem. The problem will only get a rise when there are no warrant cards, no records of vendors and missing data on types of equipment. Apart from the maintenance of new medical equipment, another necessary aspect is to train the medical staff on using the latest machine devices. The most important thing that could be done is to understand the different needs of the staff by the application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs model. The five stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs are psychological needs, safety needs, belongings, esteem and finally, self-actualization needs.

The application of the respective theory will allow GE healthcare to motivate the staff to use the latest discoveries of medical science to upgrade their knowledge (Gehealthcare, 2022). Through it, the concerned hospital will be able to motivate them by understanding their needs and differentiate them from individuals' needs. As per the view of Dumitrescu (2018), another option is allowing staff who are in charge of operating the concerned equipment is organizing a training program that will allow the staff to learn the way if use medical devices. The main thing that is needed to be considered is ongoing training as the vendor demonstrates the operations that are to be performed with the device, which is not enough. The secession that is provided by the vendor allows the staff to learn about the basic operation, which is not appropriate; therefore, there is a need for detailed training as well.

Task 3

Persons included in the project team

In order to develop a project, it is not possible for a single person to complete the entire project of producing medical equipment all alone. As mentioned by Oh and Choi (2020), the things that are necessary for developing the project are high-level coordination and strategic coordination of team members, including team managers, to ensure the success of the project. The project manager is the head of the project and is considered to be one of the main attributes of the success of the project, which is a controversial aspect. In a project lifecycle, there is the presence of other members as well apart from the project manager, who is known to be playing an important role in the project development for making the project successful. Without the project manager, it is not possible to develop an important project of manufacturing new equipment for lifting patients out and in of bed.

Persons Included in the Project Team

The important activities that are performed by the project manager apart from managing the team are conflict management, communication reporting, as well as resolution. As stated by Batisti? and Kenda (2018), the client is counted to be a part of the project team as, without them, there is no existence of projects. Clients are counted to be an important part of the project team, similar to the project manager. Being a part of the project activities that are performed by them are requesting changes, raising tissues, raising issues, and approving the project plans. Another important individual in the project is the resource manager, who is responsible for providing resources such as money, material, as well as equipment. The centre of the project is the team members who are known to be developing the project by making an effort in order to make the project successful.

The team members in the project have to participate in it along with their active involvement actively. The requester is considered to be the salesperson working for the project and has the responsibility of tacking project lifecycle. According to Ngereja and Hussein (2021), the stakeholders are the essential persons who are involved with the project and are not always the owner of the project as they are seen to be affected by the project outcomes indirectly or directly. In some scenarios has been found the project owner is not always the funder of the project, and therefore they are addressed to be the project sponsor.

Way to structure team

One of the crucial components in project management is the structure of the project, as it is the key to success. As per the view of Ionut (2020), the structure of the project team is made strong by not only finding the individuals consisting of mixed professional skills rather; there are requirements of other elements as well. The team for a project is needed to be not only predictive rather effective as well. In order to obtain such kind of team, the activity that is needed to be performed is innovation, corporation, communication along with mutual respect and trust towards each other. The project team is ephemeral and transverse in nature, along with complete dedication to the concerned project. The organization need to have a well-designed project team such that they are able to work effectively within the project framework.

A project team is developed for the combination of diversity of ideas, skills as well as values. As argued by Pollack and Matous (2019), in addition to this, the other reason behind the development of the team for a project is recognizing the best solution for the business and assigning responsibilities as well as roles to team members. The primary activity that is done for structuring the project team is defining the project objective. A precise roadmap is created after that, which will provide assistance to the team members in understanding the tasks as well as missions. As a consequence of this, it is possible to understand other aspects as well, which include the requirement of skills and deadlines that are needed to be met for completing the project successfully. The team members for a project are selected by the upper hierarchy of organizations based on the skills that are possessed by them and needed for the project development.

The team members are selected based on the skills, experience, and aptitudes of each individual. Moreover, the technical skills that the individuals consist of and the productivity and efficiency of the team matter in selecting the team as well. According to the view of Oosthuizen-Van et al. (2019), the leaders of the project are selected based on their impeccable organizational skills, their leadership skills, and their charisma. The selection of team members is the first phase, after which it is possible to move to the next one; therefore, for structuring the project team, it is necessary to go through 5 phases in a logical manner. The second phase is the storming phase; forming phase is the third one, whereas the fourth and fifth one is the performing and adjourning phase.

Way to manage team

The team that is developed for the project is needed to be motivated such that it becomes easier for the team to achieve improvement continuously. According to Nayebi et al. (2019), managers being the head of the team, are responsible for not only leading the team rather grooming the future leaders as well such that they can lead the team effectively in future. In order to manage the team in a proper manner, it is necessary to use strategies such as ensuring the presence of balance in the team, transparency, visibility, effective communication, cultural collaborations and many others. In recent times, organizations have been found to be highly prioritizing the recruitment process and spending a high amount of time optimizing it. In case proper individuals are chosen for appropriate job roles, it assists in performing half of the project tasks.

During the selection of team members for any particular project, such as developing hospital equipment, the main thing that is considered is the compatibility of personality and technical prowess that is necessary for the project purpose. It is obligatory to make sure that proper visibility and project transparency are maintained by the team manager as well as other team members. As argued by Alreshidi et al. (2018), in case the presence of transparency in the project allows for gaining the maximum amount of profit from the skills of all the team members, keeping track of progress and improving internal accountability. In the professional environment, communication plays an essential role and therefore, the indicating of project objected are needed to be done along with aligning it with the interest of individuals of the team.

One of the main benefits that are gained from open communication is well knowledgeable about the risks of projects before they become project threats. As per the study of Woezik et al. (2020), the function and development of a team are only possible only when the atmosphere is collaborative in nature. All the members are needed to be comfortable enough to make a discussion of the issues that they are facing in working in the team. In such scenarios, the best practice is to make the application of project collaboration tools as it assists in making virtual conversations as if the team members are working remotely.

Reference list 

Aghajanian, S., (2018). An empirical procurement risk management framework in supply chain networks: A hybrid approach. Industrial Engineering & Management Systems, 17(4), pp.730-744. https://doi.org/10.7232/iems.2018.17.4.730

Alreshidi, E., Mourshed, M. and Rezgui, Y., (2018). Requirements for cloud-based BIM governance solutions to facilitate team collaboration in construction projects. Requirements engineering, 23(1), pp.1-31.

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Dumitrescu, C.O., (2018). Professional Training and Improvement for the Medical Staff in the Romanian Medical Units Using E-Learning Platform. In Conferinta Internationala de Administratie si Management Public (Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 72-78). EDITURA ASE.

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