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Module Paper Four

Christina M. Jones

February 2, 2019

OGL 320
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In this paper I will be analyzing three case studies and identifying the obstacles for each

of the challenges the project management team faces. I will then utilize and research what I have

learned in this course to offer advice on how to remediate the situations. I will discuss what

problems I detect and how there may be a solution with key points using the knowledge and

skills I have acquired. The three case studies I will be analyzing are Fargo Food, Estimating

Problem, and A rush to Failure from the HBR guide.

First I will be looking at Fargo Foods, their large global corporation has success in

canning foods in many countries. The growth of their expansion has a need for project

management for conducting large and small business construction projects. There are many

challenges based on interviews for instance ideas can be generated anywhere in the company and

all preplanning is done prior to taking it to senior leadership. They also perform a rough cost

estimates to present along with their preplanning. This seems realistic however, management

takes those numbers as set costs and imposes decisions on loose observations. If they move

forward with the rough costs and preplan their senior leaders patience wears thin as each project

that is undertaken either fails, is over budget or off schedule due to the false expectations. In

addition during a project senior leadership alters timelines so this causes delays. They also do not

allocate their best resources as most projects are not taken seriously. The project managers

themselves were promoted from engineers to project managers so they all perform the work

themselves without delegating. All of these factors make the project team feel it is necessary to

restructure all the projects after they approved.

With all of these obstacles for this project management team it is no surprise that there is

so much chaos. I first would recommend a better strategy with the preplanning and rough costs

estimates. Once the project management gets the idea they should putting together a proper
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scope with purpose and Work Breakdown Structure, this way there are set parameters and clear

boundaries (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). To fix the cost estimates problem there

should be more thought into costs estimates up front and a contingency budget in case of

overflowing funds. Also I would recommend having a change control board in place, the change

control can help with the senior leaders adjusting the time frames without project manager’s

consent, this will control costs as there will be no sudden changes, there can be a set time line for

milestones, and set threshold for additional work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). If a

control board does not help with the sudden deadline changes that are given a good tool that can

be used is creating a critical path method to plot out time and see which areas are flexible in

change. Lastly, when senior leaders assigned all engineers to be project managers this was not in

best interest of the company. I would recommend they add staff or change current staff to allow

more diversity and give freedom to delegate tasks as needed for the company’s project team

success.

Next is the case study estimating problem, Barbara was newly assigned as project

manager for a new project however she soon finds out the challenges facing timelines and costs.

With Barbara being assigned to the project she is not privy to the scope of work until once it is

assigned. The committee has sole control over what projects are approved and who is assigned.

The committee has full control over the time lines and expectations of the project. Barbara soon

finds out that the project she is assigned along with the timeline and funds are unrealistic for her

to accomplish. The committee used a simple three step system to choose project time lines, they

did not look at the complexity and scope to determine which could be problematic.

Barbara has come to the realization that the project scope, timeline, and budget are not

aligning. She must confront the project committee with her justifications and evidence needed
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for more money and more time to complete her complex project. What it best for Barbara to do

first is develop a communications plan. For any project manager and stakeholders in the project

it is important to establish communication from the beginning to ensure problems are

resolved.(Harvard Business Essentials, 2004). She must get the various groups together so she

can discuss this plan and set up a meeting with the stakeholders involved. Then I would

recommend she put together a detailed scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary defining

each and every action to show the complexity. Lastly, she must present the board a breakdown of

costs she believes will be needed. Although the company uses this three step system, she can

show that using these tools can help assist with more complex projects.

Last to review is the Rush to Failure Case Study problems are with contractors and time

lines. Although they product great speed the quality is faulty which leads to the long time line it

has taken. There have been many attempted to launch REACH however all have ended with the

product not working successfully. Due to the timeline crunch the project needed to have many of

its developments overlapping which caused uncomplete tasks (Harvard Business Review Press,

2012). This rushed timeline left the contractors no time quality inspections, corners were cut,

equipment needed was not able to be used, and contractors and agency (CAA) all had different

goals (Harvard Business Review Press, 2012). As a result the project did fail but the company

knew their project still had potential and learned from the failure on future projects.

This situation is Fast Tracking that ended in disaster, although fast tracking is a great way

to complete tasks faster by overlapping it is not effective in every project (Harvard Business

Essentials, 2004). This team should not have used fast tracking to meet the time crunch deadlines

as it ended with cut corners and low quality. I would recommend this team to create realistic

timelines even though their stakeholders may not the happiest. It would have possibly had a
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successful end result and less failed attempts for the product launch. This case scenario taught

me that not all projects are going to be successful but it is important to understand why it failed

and what not to do in the future.

The key points I will take away from these case studies are that every project that can be

given may need a different approach for each. There are not projects that will always be the same

or require the same skills or tools. It is important to plan and define the scope of work for the

organization you work for. It is also a key point to ensure that your budget and time lien are

realistic and if they are not then communicate with your team and organization. Projects can be

successful as long as you put in the effort to preplan, organize, communicate effectively, set

boundaries, set goals, assign work correctly, and use your resources you have acquired.

References
Harvard Business Essentials, .. (2004). Managing Projects Large and Small: The Fundamental
Skills for Delivering on Budget and on Time. Boston: Harvard Business School
Publishing.
Harvard Business Review Press, .. (2012). HBR Guide to Project Managment. Boston: Harvard
Business School Publishing.