Description

You will need to know the high-level deliverables and timelines for this project, which can be found below in the project statement of work(SOW).

The SOW for this project lists the following requirements:

• design the new store building (including the garden center), parking lots, and landscaping
• obtain required licenses and permits
• prepare the site and lay the foundation
• construct the new store building and finish the interior
• construct the garden center
• outfit the store with shelves, fixtures, and IT systems (e.g., communications and payment systems)
• pave the parking lots and landscape the exterior of the store
• stock the store with inventory (For this project, stick to a storewide, high-level inventory budget, though you may have to make estimates based on different product categories, such as lumber, hardware, appliances, etc.)
• staff, hire, and train store personnel

The store should be prepared for opening in approximately 10 months.

Step 5: Create the Work Breakdown Structure

In the previous step, you identified and analyzed all stakeholders, both internal and external to your team, and created a communication plan to manage their expectations. Now your team must consider how you will handle the work breakdown structure (WBS).

Using MS Excel create a high-level of the work breakdown structure for your project that covers the key facets set out in the statement of work, such as the design of the new store. A sample of WBS which you can use as a template is provided.

When you create your WBS remember the following rules:

• Include 100% of the work necessary to complete the goal and don’t include the work that is out of your project scope.
• Provide a sufficient level of detail.
• Don’t account for any amount of work twice.
• Focus on outcomes, not actions.

Then continue to the next step, where your team will develop a project schedule (Gantt chart).

Step 6: Create the Project Schedule (Gantt Chart)

This morning you received an email from Jillian Best.

INBOX: 1 Message

Subject: TCS project: good progress

From: Jillian Best

To: You

Dear Team,

I’m happy with the progress on the TCS project. It is nice to see that the work breakdown structure is properly align with the project requirements. You should use it as a basis for preparing other components of the project management plan.

Keep up the good work.

I look forward to updates in a week.

Jillian Best, CEO MCS

From your experience and knowledge, you understand that for a good schedule (Gantt chart) you need to define all project activities and their attributes (including their durations), establish logical dependencies between them, integrate project milestones in the schedule, etc. The WBS will serve you well in determining your project activities and preparing your schedule. The Microsoft Project software will allow you to visually present your schedule with the Gantt chart. Ensure that your Gantt chart indicates the critical path in red. If you need help, please follow these Microsoft Project guidelines.

There are additional resources (videos) on how to use MS Project in the class Discussions area.

To get more benefits from the MS Project the following requirements should be observed:

• You should use auto-scheduled task mode for all your activities/tasks.
• The hierarchical structure of your WBS should be presented in the MS Project file.
• All task dependencies should be established. Every activity and milestone except the first and the last should be connected to at least one predecessor and one successor. Don’t link summary tasks because it might negatively affect your schedule quality and result in incorrect presentation of the critical path.
• It is better to establish task durations than their start and end dates. The duration of summary tasks will be automatically calculated by the software. Additionally, it will be easier to modify your schedule, if needed, without losing its logic
• The WBS Chart should be expanded beyond the 4 categories you have selected. Please examine the SOW to ensure that all of its’ elements are include in the WBS.From a planning perspective, you may like to ensure that the following activities are adequately covered during different phases: Design, licensing and permitting, Construction – preparation of grounds, inspection and handover of buildings,Moving in with interiors, electricity, plumbing, heating and cooling,Store layout, inventory stocking, hiring and training, andDry run of IT systems and opening day, andOpening Day.Where the activities are of long duration, you may like to break them down in smaller ones. As a broad guideline for this size of project, about 15-20 activities under each of these categories should provide sufficient detail for management control.
• Please use MS Project to develop the Gantt chart for this project. Please be sure that it has the same level of detail (more or less) as the WBS and that the critical path is outlined in red. Please be advised that it must have the same level of detail (more or less) as the WBS