Overview

The project for this course is the creation of a project management plan.

Managing technology in support of business operations is key to profitable operations management (OM). Profit maximization can result from a business manager’s ability to cut production costs or generate new revenue after applying a new technology or developing new products or services. To ensure the profitability of a business opportunity, a manager must be able to envision the entire life cycle of a business product, service, or idea. Only then can the manager create a plan to guide the business product, service, or idea from inception to retirement in a sustainable and profitable manner.

For this assessment, you will develop a project management plan focused on profitable and sustainable operations; the basis for this project management plan will be the company and business product, service, or other idea from the business plan you created in the Marketing and Strategy course (see attached Business Plan). In your project management plan, you will manage the scope-time-cost parameters of the project by assessing relevant obstacles and risks. You will determine appropriate risk mitigation strategies for your project, while also considering future innovations and profits.

Prompt

Develop a project management plan for the company and product, service, or other idea from my business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course (see attached Business Plan).

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

  1. I. Operations Management: In this section, you will assess the history and trends of operations management, focusing on the business or company from your business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course. Specifically, you should:
  2. a) Assess the significant forces that have shaped operations management in recent history. How did these forces impact the business operations of your company? If your company does not yet exist, how do you envision these forces will impact the business operations of your company?
  3. b) Critique the key obstacles and issues that confronted company management during the evolution of operations management into the modern era. How did your company’s management handle these obstacles? If your company did not exist then, how do you think they would have responded to these issues?
  4. c) Assess changes to operations management philosophies and organizational structures in response to the evolving complexity of business operations. In other words, what has changed and why?
  5. d) Analyze the business operations of your selected company. Consider questions such as these in your response: What organizational processes does the company use? How do the business operations support the strategic plan, mission, and vision of the company? What factors affect productivity and profitability?
  6. e) Determine the key trends in production, quality, resource, and information management with a focus on the business operations of your company.
  7. f) Assess the impact of these key trends on the business operations of your selected company and on the business product, service, or other idea in your business plan.
  8. Operationalization: In this section, you will discuss the operationalization of a business opportunity, specifically the business product, service, or other idea from your business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course. Specifically, you should:
  9. a) Project the potential costs, risks, and benefits of operationalizing your business idea. Your projections should be supported with rationale.
  10. b) Develop a work breakdown structure for your business idea. Your work breakdown structure should include at least three tasks with at least three subtasks each.
  11. c) Provide a narrative justifying each task and subtask that is part of your work breakdown structure.
  12. d) Identify key milestones, deliverables, and resource requirements associated with operationalizing your business idea based on your work breakdown structure. The key milestones, deliverables, and resource requirements should be supported with an explanation of how they will help the project meet scope-time-cost objectives.
  13. e) Assess potential obstacles and impediments to meeting scope-time-cost objectives of the project, supporting your assessment with rationale.
  14. f) Determine appropriate risk mitigation strategies to address the obstacles, impediments, and risks you have identified.

III. Life Cycle: In this section, you will discuss the life cycle of your business product, service, or other idea from your business plan in the Marketing and Strategy course. Specifically, you should:

  1. a) Describe the life cycle of the business idea. Focus your response on the future of the business idea, specifically on its growth and eventual decline.
  2. b) Assess the profit generation and cost-saving opportunities associated with the business idea based on the life cycle you described. Your assessment should be supported with rationale.
  3. c) Determine a phase-out plan for your business idea that ensures a sustainable solution that makes way for future innovation and profit streams. Ensure that you justify the steps in your plan.