Question

In: Operations Management

Signatures, Inc. specializes in producing personalized products for companies such as coffee mugs and pens with...

Signatures, Inc. specializes in producing personalized products for companies such as coffee mugs and pens with company logos. The company generates over $60 million in annual sales and has more than 300 employees. The company is in the middle of a large multimillion-dollar SCM implementation and has just hired your Project Management Outsourcing firm to take over the project management efforts. On your first day, your team is told that the project is failing for the following reasons:

The project is using the traditional waterfall methodology.

The SDLC was not followed.

The developers and users decided to skip the testing phase so the project could be completed as scheduled.

The project plan was developed during the Analysis phase, but the departed project manager never updated or followed the plan.

Write a short APA formatted essay (3 pages would be appropriate) responding to these perceived project short comings. In addition, provide 5 specific steps you would take to get this faltering technology project back on track. (Make any assumptions about the project you would like about why the project is in trouble.) Be sure to explain the actions that you would take and the expected results of those individual actions. Assume this essay will be shared with both company executives and your management.

Solutions

Expert Solution

Prima facie, it seems to be gross violation of standard practices, which should have been followed as per the procedure. Project failure could be rightly attributed to the below factors, which was rightly pointed out on the very first day with my team-

  1. Using the age old Waterfall technology- Waterfall technology holds good for those projects which are in the late stage of the development process and needs very minor tweaking. Here, considering the expansion plan of the company, it’s quite imperative that company is willing to roll out the new technology and for that quite updated skill sets would be required, which Waterfall technology can’t cater to.
  2. Not following the Systems development life cycle (SDLC) – Systems development Life cycle is one of the most desired and required developmental cycle which passes through the multiple phases of product development such as Project planning, Analysis, Design and its implementation and its support through proper maintenance team. The entire workflow is also documented in a proper formal manner which acts as a guiding light for new joiners.
  3. Skipping the testing phase was one of the major non-compliance, which should have been followed as testing phase is the actual simulation where possible challenges can be understood well in advance before its commercial scale up.

Considering the above factors, which were not in accordance with the proper company’s practices, it’s quite evident that product was failing for its successful implementation. Also, due to the absence of proper formal documentation, no support system was available as departed project manager never updated the developments in log books.

To overcome these serious issues and to put the project back on track, I would be taking below 5 steps as an overhaul strategy-

  1. Bringing good documentation practices- for all the project discussions, employees would be asked to document all the formal discussions either online or in a record book, which will ensure that all the important discussions and planning is being archived for future references.
  2. Promoting the implementation of SDLC- Implementiaon and following of Systems development life cycle would ensure that real time tracking can be done for the project and timeline and bottlenecks can be understood through Gantt chart.
  3. Bringing in accountability at individual level- Making all the involved resources accountable and responsible for their individual assigned task would bring in more transparency and thus speedy implementation of the next phase of the developmental cycle.
  4. Introducing Six sigma approach to understand the good manufacturing practices- Though it may sound little strange, but practicing six sigma practices would bring in more scientific rationale and habits within all the resources.
  5. Putting promotion and good reward schemes in place – Encouraging all the top performers would ensure that employees feel motivated to be truly engaged in project development, which will eventually keep the projects on track.

Related Solutions

Signatures Inc. specializes in producing personalized products such as coffee mugs and pens with company logos....
Signatures Inc. specializes in producing personalized products such as coffee mugs and pens with company logos. The company generates over $40 million in annual revenues and has more than 300 employees. The company is in the middle of a large multimillion-dollar SCM implementation, and it has just hired your project management outsourcing firm to take over the project management efforts. On your first day, your team is told that the project is failing for the following reasons: The project is...
Custom Prints Inc. (CPI) specializes in logo-imprinted coffee mugs. CPI tracks the number of units purchased...
Custom Prints Inc. (CPI) specializes in logo-imprinted coffee mugs. CPI tracks the number of units purchased and sold throughout each accounting period but applies its inventory costing method at the end of each period, as if it uses a periodic inventory system. Assume its accounting records provided the following information at the end of the accounting period, December 31. The inventory’s selling price is $11 per unit. Transactions Unit Cost Units Total Cost Inventory December 1 $4.50 250 $1,125 Sale,...
Assume the market for coffee mugs is perfectly competitive. Firms in the market are producing output,...
Assume the market for coffee mugs is perfectly competitive. Firms in the market are producing output, but are currently making economic losses. a. How does the price of coffee mugs compare to the average total cost, the average variable cost, and the marginal cost of producing coffee mugs? b. Draw two graphs, side by side, illustrating the present situation for the typical firm and in the market. c. Assuming there is no change in either market demand or the firms’...
Assume the market for coffee mugs is perfectly competitive. Firms in the market are producing output, but are currently making economic losses.
Assume the market for coffee mugs is perfectly competitive. Firms in the market are producing output, but are currently making economic losses.How does the price of coffee mugs compare to the average total cost, the average variable cost, and the marginal cost of producing coffee mugs?Draw two graphs, side by side, illustrating the present situation for the typical firm and in the market.Assuming there is no change in either market demand or the firms’ cost curves,explain what will happen in...
Mike Leon is the marketing director of Heatweb Inc that specializes in HVAC products. The company...
Mike Leon is the marketing director of Heatweb Inc that specializes in HVAC products. The company presently sells low end priced version of the firm’s UNX100 model, midpriced Model UNX500, and moderately premium version model UNX 800. The UNX100 model is sold to distributors at $1300 and this model’s unit variable cost is $1100. Heatweb sold about 1400 units of UNX100 in the past year. The mid priced model UNX500 was not very successful in the market and it achieved...
ABC Inc. producing A, B and C products, the following are costs and revenues information regarding...
ABC Inc. producing A, B and C products, the following are costs and revenues information regarding these products during 2010: Data A B C Total Revenues 200,000 300,000 150,000 650,000 Costs: DM 80,000 160,000 60,000 300,000 DL 30,000 60,000 20,000 110,000 VOH 15,000 25,000 10,000 50,000 FOH (department- specific) 20,000 35,000 15,000 70,000 FOH (factory-general) 10,000 10,000 10,000 30,000 Operating expenses (Fixed) 20,000 20,000 20,000 60,000 Operating income 25,000 (10,000) 15,000 30,000 Required:    1. Based on the above information,...
Bombardier Inc. specializes in manufacturing transportation products (aircraft, railway equipment, snowmobiles, and watercraft). The company offers...
Bombardier Inc. specializes in manufacturing transportation products (aircraft, railway equipment, snowmobiles, and watercraft). The company offers warranties on all of its products. Note 2 to Bombardier’s financial statements for fiscal year 2015 stated the following: Product warranties typically range from one to five years, except for aircraft and bogie structural warranties that extend up to 20 years. Selected information from Bombardier’s annual reports follows (amounts in millions of U.S. dollars): 2015 2014 2013 Revenues 16,968 18,547 18,092 Provision for product...
Since the 1960s, LKK Technologies Inc. has established a reputation for producing prestige audio products and...
Since the 1960s, LKK Technologies Inc. has established a reputation for producing prestige audio products and aims to set the standard for performance, reliability and service. The company’s first product, namely the LKK Record Player, is a high quality vinyl record player built into a wooden cabinet made of the finest quality jarrah. In the late 1980s, LKK started producing CD players, which was in demand at that time. In order to maintain a strong commitment to keeping with its...
Case One: Green Machine, Inc. Green Machine, Inc., a company devoted to producing eco-friendly household products,...
Case One: Green Machine, Inc. Green Machine, Inc., a company devoted to producing eco-friendly household products, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Colossal Corporation. Green Machine's most famous and best-selling product is the Eco-Widget—a handheld, solar-powered device that recharges a variety of electronics on the go, including cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Colossal Corporation has uncovered an incident of theft at Green Machine: Approximately one month ago, over 400 Eco-Widgets were stolen from Green Machine's Adelphi, Maryland warehouse. Shortly after...
Case One: Green Machine, Inc. Green Machine, Inc., a company devoted to producing eco-friendly household products,...
Case One: Green Machine, Inc. Green Machine, Inc., a company devoted to producing eco-friendly household products, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Colossal Corporation. Green Machine's most famous and best-selling product is the Eco-Widget—a handheld, solar-powered device that recharges a variety of electronics on the go, including cell phones, laptops, and tablets. Colossal Corporation has uncovered an incident of theft at Green Machine: Approximately one month ago, over 400 Eco-Widgets were stolen from Green Machine's Adelphi, Maryland warehouse. Shortly after...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT