Project Plan for

Team # 4 Project Managers to the Rescue

July 30, 2016

Project Information
Project Name
This project will be referred to as PJ Enterprises Electronic Catalog /Customer Service Training Launch.

Project Description/Overview
PJ Enterprises has contracted Project Managers to the Rescue to provide a training solution to assist the
organization in maintaining or exceeding projected target goals of a minimum of 10% profitability, a
decrease in customer complaints and improvement in customer service overall satisfaction by
implementing an electronic searchable catalog database. Project Managers to the Rescue will design,
develop, and deliver a customer service instructor led training for supervisors and phone operators that can
be maintained by PJ Enterprises staff upon completion of the project, and will be completed prior to the
companys holiday catalog mailing. Project Managers to the Rescue has collaborated with the project
sponsor, Jane Mackenzie, to review the current state of PJ Enterprises, and along with the findings of the
gap analysis, has found training to be an appropriate solution to some of the needs assessed. PMTTR will
design a full day training that will cover customer service skills and technical training for telephone
operators on a new catalog database that will be easier to use, and provide better product information to
telephone operators, thereby decreasing customer wait time in the phone queue. The database will be
customizable to allow PJ Enterprises to update new or discontinued products as necessary, saving time and
quickly being able to resolve issues leading to higher customer satisfaction.

Project Purpose
The purpose of this project is to design and deliver an effective customer service and technical training to
PJ Enterprises telephone operators that will teach both the customer service skills and the technical skills
required to interact with customers while using the electronic product database. PMTTR seeks to provide
training that will improve customer service etiquette and decrease long call and wait times. This will be
achieved by increasing the accessibility of product information through the use of a categorized electronic
database, which will ultimately result in increased customer satisfaction and sales. The training will also
decrease the 30% increase in customer service complaints resulting from transfer calls to supervisors from
customers demanding additional information.

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Business Objectives
The improvement in customer service and technical training for telephone operators will assist PJ
Enterprises with maintaining business objectives of exceeding projected targets, increasing profitability by
a minimum 10% to meet an aggressive growth of $2,000,000 net profit. The customer service and
electronic catalog database will also decrease customer service complaints by 10% by improving operator
product knowledge, reducing wait time to resolution, and increasing customer satisfaction. Ultimately,
better informed telephone operators will be able to respond to telephone orders more effectively, and have
the ability to independently solve customer issues.

Scope Statement
Deliverables Included
Project Managers to the Rescue will deliver the following:

This project plan, which includes the project schedule and Gantt chart, work structure diagram,
change management plan, communication management plan, and risk management plan
The design document for the product guide database, which will specify database parameters such
as development tools, time requirements, and product information needed for data entry
A prototype of the searchable product guide database, which will be provided by Database Options
LLC
A final, searchable product guide database, which will be provided by Database Options LLC
The customer service and product guide database training design document, which describes the
purpose and structure of the 8-hour customer service-training rollout including:
o Program objectives, assessment methods and instructional strategies
o Course materials, including a facilitators guide and customer service handouts/job aids
o Knowledge and skill assessment strategies and materials to show initial impacts of the
training before and after implementation
The final customer service and product guide database training and materials, including:
o Facilitator Guide
o Participant Guide
o Job Aids
o Slides or Presentation
Guidance and train the trainer session to select PJ Enterprises employees that will facilitate the
sessions upon the project completion

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Exclusions
Project Managers to the Rescue will not provide the following:
Copywriting for the product guide
Printing services for the participant, facilitator guide and job aids
Projection equipment for the training
Scheduling, session sign-up, and completion tracking
Networked computers or laptops, training room, internet access for staff who attends the training
session
Management training to operator supervisors
Supervisor development to current telephone operators
Training on operation of the telephone and order entry systems
Content for staff meetings
A completed new hire training course
Development of an employee recognition or bonus system

Project Completion Criteria

Stakeholders will understand project completion when the following project deliverables are phased out
and completed.

When all deliverables are signed-off by the project sponsor

When database is live, revisions are completed and ready for training
When training sessions for current employees are complete
When the project evaluations have been conducted

Project Plans
Primary Plans
This project plan includes a variety of plans necessary to carry out a smooth implementation of the PJ
Enterprises Electronic Catalog/Customer Service Training Launch, including:

Weekly meeting plans

Work schedule
Signoff schedule
Change management plan
Communication plan

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Scheduled Meetings
Project Managers to the Rescue has scheduled the following regular meetings; however, additional
meetings may be scheduled should an immediate need arise.

Meeting

Frequency

Attendees

Description

Project Status
Meeting

Once per week

Alyssa Haynes,
Project Manager PMTTR & Jane
MacKenzie, Project
Sponsor PJ
Enterprises

Status meeting to report

accomplishments, next steps, issues, and
request help for bottlenecks or other
roadblocks.

Scheduled Status Reports

Project Managers to the Rescues project manager, Alyssa Haynes, will provide a status report in writing, as
well as manage status within the project management tool weekly.

Assumptions
Project Managers to the Rescue will be responsible for the following:
Completing all stated deliverables
Project Management from the design and development standpoint, including regular status reports
to the sponsor
Providing PJ Enterprises with completed course materials that can continue to be utilized for
employee training after project completion
Facilitating the first training sessions
Providing train the trainer sessions to employees that will assume the trainer role after project
completion
Providing weekly status reports to PJ Enterprises
Meeting project milestones by set dates
Meeting budgetary constraints
Completing the project in a timely manner
Communicating with PJ Enterprises immediately should there be a roadblock to meeting a project
milestone date or budgetary goal
PJ Enterprises will be responsible for the following:

Providing adequate SMEs in each area to help develop and validate content in a timely manner
Ensuring training content is accurate
Completing review of materials and completing sign-off on documents in a timely manner
Printing necessary course materials and instructor guides
Providing trainees paper and pens to take notes during training sessions

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 Providing all necessary product information for upcoming catalog launch in a timely manner,
including pictures of the products
Establishing a rollout schedule to train all current telephone operators on the new material
Setting up operator workstations and instructor workstation/projector in the training room
Providing quality headsets to all telephone operators
Removing SME bottlenecks to ensure their ability to consult with Project Managers to the Rescue
Completing change requests should a need to change the course design or direction arise

Constraints
The following situations will constrain Project Managers to the Rescues ability to carry out the project:

Shift work of employees, SMEs and other resources may constrain the availability for them to
provide review, answer questions and carry out or attend training sessions
Information resources are limited to the SMEs PJ Enterprises is able to provide for the duration of
the project
Training must be completed before the holiday catalog launch. Building the product database and
completing/delivering the training is limited to this time frame.
Available technology for training is limited to that provided by PJ Enterprises
Project must be completed within the designated budget assigned by PJ Enterprises
Training is limited to the scope set by PJ Enterprises

External Dependencies
The successful completion of the course is dependent on the following external factors:

Call volume on days Project Managers to the Rescue is scheduled to gather working examples for
the training program
Call volume on days Project Managers to the Rescue is scheduled to work with supervisor and
operator SMEs
Severe weather or other natural disasters that may affect operation of telephone, internet or order
entry system functionality during the project timeframe

Project Approach
PMTTR will use the ADDIE flow to develop PJ Enterprises customer service and product guide database
training. Sign-offs for each activity will be required on the dates listed below. After completing a causal
and gap analysis, PMTTR will begin the design and development of the training. The functions of
telephone operators will be broken down into smaller tasks and listed in the job task analysis. Then,
PMTTR will select the terminal objectives of the training, including conditions and criterion of success.
Next, PMTTR will select the appropriate instructional strategies for the eight-hour training. After this, the
design document will be finished and the design of lesson plans can begin. A course outline will be
designed, depicting the flow of modules and lessons for the training. A facilitator guide, participant guide,
and job aids will accompany the outlined course. The instructional presentation will be developed, and the
training will be tested, evaluated, and if necessary, revised. On September 6, implementation for the
training will occur.

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Milestones
Milestone or Activity

Deliverable

Target
Date

Prototype of product guide database design

signoff

Design document and

prototype example for
product guide database
(provided by Database
Options LLC)

May 13,
2016

Design document for telephone operator

training signoff

Design document & course

outline for telephone
operator training

May 27,
2016

Telephone operator training lesson plan &

content signoff

Facilitator guide, participant

guide, job aids, training
presentation and
knowledge/skill assessment
materials

July 8,
2016

Develop training pilot evaluation

Finalized schedule for

training pilot

July 15,
2016

Final product guide database review signoff

Finalized product guide

database

August 5,
2016

Telephone operator training revisions signoff

Finalized facilitator guide,

participant guide, job aids,
training presentation and
knowledge/skill assessment
materials

August 19,
2015

Telephone operator training implementation

All finalized training plans

and materials

September
6, 2016

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WBS Diagram

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Schedule (ET)
Task

Assigned To

Start Date

End Date

Status

ET, AH
ET, AH
ET, AH
ET, AH
ET, AH
ET
ET
ET
ET
ET

4/18/2016
4/18/2016
4/18/2016
4/18/2016
4/18/2016
4/25/2016
4/25/2016
4/25/2016
4/25/2016
4/25/2016

4/22/2016
4/22/2016
4/22/2016
4/22/2016
4/22/2016
4/29/2016
4/29/2016
4/29/2016
4/29/2016
4/29/2016

Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete
Complete

NA, MG
NA, MG

5/2/2016
5/2/2016

5/13/2016
5/13/2016

NA, MG
NA, MG
NA, MG
CJ
AH
PJ Enterprises
NA, MG

5/2/2016
5/2/2016
5/2/2016
5/9/2016

5/13/2016
5/13/2016
5/13/2016
5/13/2016
5/13/2016
5/18/2016
5/24/2016

Comments

Analyze

Needs Assessment/Gap Analysis

Business goals/needs
Learners
Work Environment
Training Setting
Jobs & Tasks
Knowledge Needed
Processes
Steps and/or Guidelines
Learning Objectives
Design

Create Course Outline

Determine Learning & Delivery
Strategies
Outline Course Objectives
Pick Assessment Strategies
Create Learning Assessments
Write Design Document
Submit Design Document
Review Design Document
Modify Design Document (After
SME/Sponsor Review)
Submit Design Document for
Verification/Review
Verify Design Document
Changes
Obtain Signoff from Sponsor

5/16/2016
5/19/2016

AH
PJ Enterprises

5/25/2016
5/25/2016

AH

5/27/2016
5/27/2016

Develop

Create Facilitator's Guide

Create Participant Guide
Create Job Aids
Create Training
Slides/Presentation
Submit Course Materials for
Review
Review Course Materials
Modify Materials after
SME/Sponsor Review
Submit Materials for
Verification/Review
Verify Course Material Changes
Obtain Sign-off from Sponsor on
Course Materials

NA, CJ
NA, CJ
NA, CJ
NA, CJ

5/30/2016
6/13/2016
6/20/2016
5/30/2016

AH
PJ Enterprises
NA, CJ

6/17/2016
6/17/2016
6/24/2016
6/17/2016
6/24/2016

6/27/2016
6/30/2016

AH

6/29/2016
7/5/2016
7/5/2016

PJ Enterprises
AH

7/6/2016

7/8/2016
7/8/2016

AH, PJ

7/18/2016

7/22/2016

Implement

Schedule Training Times,

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Including Pilot
Determine Trainees
Deliver Pilot Training
Submit Pilot Training Data for
Review
Review Pilot Training
Modify Training after
SME/Sponsor Review
Submit Materials for
Verification/Review
Verify Final Training Changes
Obtain Final Customer Service
and Product Guide Database
Signoff
Train the Future Trainers
Deliver Training to Trainees
Deliver Learning Assessment to
Trainees

Enterprises
AH, PJ
Enterprises
MG
AH
PJ Enterprises
NA, CJ

7/18/2016

7/22/2016

7/25/2016

7/29/2016
8/1/2016

8/1/2016
8/4/2016

8/3/2016
8/12/2016

AH

8/12/2016

PJ Enterprises
AH

8/15/2016

8/17/2016
8/19/2016

MG
MG
MG

8/29/2016
9/6/2016
9/6/2016

9/6/2016
9/6/2016
9/6/2016

NA
NA, CJ
AH
AH

7/11/2016
7/11/2016
9/6/2016
3/6/2017

7/15/2016
7/15/2016
9/13/2016
3/13/2017

Evaluate

Choose Evaluation Methods

Create Evaluation Plan
Report Evaluation Findings
Report Evaluation Findings 6
Month Report

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Gantt Chart
Insets depict Gantt chart from left to right
Full Chart:

Insets:
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Change Management Plan

To manage change to the scope of the project, PMTTR will use the process outlined below.

Purpose
The purpose of a change management plan is to ensure that each change proposed during the project is
adequately defined, evaluated, and approved before a change is implemented.

Goals
The primary goal of the change management process is to avoid unnecessary changes that might disrupt
services to PJ Enterprises and also ensures resources are being used efficiently.

Change Control Process

The change control process implemented by PMTTR will include the following steps:
1. Change request document is submitted by the project sponsor or other stakeholder,
such as PJ Enterprises management to PMTTRs project manager. The change request
document will specify a description of the change and expected benefits or reason for
the change. The project sponsor will set up a meeting with PMTTR to review the
change and answer questions.
2. Prior to the meeting, PMTTR will receive the change request document and will
review the proposed change. PMTTRs project manager will track the proposed change
by using the projects change log. The change log documents all requested changes
throughout the projects entirety.
3. After the meeting, PMTTR will analyze all aspects of the change and will consider the
overall effect on the project including: quantifiable cost savings and benefits, estimated
cost of change, impact on timeline and project scope, extra resources required, impact
on business activities, and risks associated with the change.
4. After analyzing the change, PMTTR will meet with PJ Enterprises to discuss and
present their findings as outlined in step 3, and PJ Enterprises will either decide to
proceed with change, or discard it.
5. If the change is denied, PMTTR will continue executing the originally agreed upon
project plan. PMTTRs project manager will update the change log with the status of
Denied and adds notes as to why the decision was made.
6. If the change is approved, the project manager will update the change log with the
status of Approved and add notes as to why the decision was made. The project
manager of PMTTR will partner with the project sponsor to prioritize the change.
7. The project manager will assign new roles and responsibilities to the team members
and will update the project plan with action items, owners, and due dates. The project
manager will also update the change log with the revisions. The project manager will
call a meeting with the project team to communicate new roles and responsibilities.
8. PMTTRs project manager will inform all other key stakeholders of the change being
implemented.
9. The change is implemented.
10. PMTTR and the project sponsor will monitor the change and evaluate. Once the
change is deemed complete, PMTTR will update the change log and mark the status of
the change as Complete.
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Responsibilities
Person Responsible

Project Sponsor

Responsibilities

Submits change request document

Set up meeting with PMTTR to review change request
document
Prioritize change with project manager

PMTTR Team Members

Review change request document

Analyze impact of proposed change
Present impact of proposed change to PJ Enterprises
Implement the change and execute assigned
responsibilities

Project Manager

Update change log with change request information

Update change log with accept or denial decision
Schedule meeting with project sponsor to present impact
of proposed change to PJ Enterprises
Prioritize change with project sponsor
Determine project teams new roles and responsibilities
and communicate it to them
Inform all other key stakeholders of project change
Evaluate the change & monitor progress
Update change log with Complete status.

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Communication Plan
Purpose and Goals
Employees of PJ Enterprises will be undergoing multiple changes in order to meet their end goal of
providing better service to their customers. At times, change can lead to uncertainty, and as a result,
employees may not embrace the required changes. In order to ease the uncertainty and angst that may be
caused by this project, a communication plan will be put in place to ensure consistent, accurate
communication from PJ Enterprises is delivered to their employees, including: the purpose of the project,
how the project will impact them, and training expectations. By keeping the employees in the loop on
project happenings, the goal is to create comfort and instill confidence within the employees with the
direction that PJ Enterprises is taking.

Recommendations to PJ Enterprises on Messages to Address Impact of the

Project
PJ Enterprises needs to make it clear to its employees their areas of opportunities based on the recent
research and data gathered. PJ Enterprises should consider sharing a summary of data gathered through
Project Managers to the Rescues interviews with the operators and supervisors, along with information
from the focus group and survey administered to its telephone operators. Additionally, it should share the
customer service survey results to its employees to emphasize the need for etiquette training. PJ Enterprises
should communicate why its essential to increase its abilities to service the customer and how an enhanced
product guide database will help them achieve that goal.

Challenges and Opportunities

Through this project, PMTTR may experience the following challenges, and therefore, this chart has been
put in place to outlines the challenge and the message to be delivered.

Audience

Telephone
Operators

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Challenge

May not
know what
the purpose
of the
project is
or what the
project
goals are

Message to address challenge

There is a training project in the

works that will help make your
jobs easier. This training will
provide you with the tools and
resources to better answer
customers questions, and also
deliver a consistent approach to
customer service.

Channel

Email blasts
and pre-shift
meetings

Responsible

Jane
MacKenzie

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Telephone
Operators

Telephone
Operators

SMEs

May resist
etiquette
training

Training will ensure customers

will be serviced in a consistent
and polite manner and therefore,
customers will be less likely to
get upset. The telephone
operators have done a great job
providing service to customers
with the tools available. This
training will only improve service
scores and build upon the
operators skill base.

One-on-one
conversations
and pre-shift
meetings

Supervisors

May resist
training of
the new
database

The enhanced product guide

database will provide you with
the necessary information you
need to answer customer
questions, without needing to
transfer the calls to your
supervisors. The information you
need on a daily basis will be right
at your fingertips.

One-on-one
conversations
and pre-shift
meetings

Supervisors

May not
give
adequate
time to
create the
training

We understand your time is

valuable and appreciate your
knowledge with this project. At
this time, this project is your
priority and your efforts should
be focused on partnering with
PMTTR to create these trainings.

One-on-one
conversations

Jane
MacKenzie

Risk Management Method

Through the project charter document, PMTTR has documented anticipated risks of this project.
Additional risks, outside of what has been already outlined, may come up, and therefore, we will track them
on a risk management spreadsheet to include the following pieces of information:

Description of the risk

Probability of the risk
Anticipated impact of the risk
Mitigation response

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Project Plan Approvals

Approvals
Approved by:
Name

Jane MacKenzie

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Role

Project Sponsor

Signature

Date

7/31/16

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