...KEL156 MARK JEFFERY A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success In his twelve years as a technology project manager at A&D High Tech, Chris Johnson had a strong track record of delivering projects on time and on budget. His techniques for project planning, estimating, and scheduling had become best practices at the St. Louis-based computer products company. He had just led a project team that successfully revamped the supply chain systems in less than eighteen months. He was especially proud since many observers had doubted that the project could be completed on time. As part of the strategic initiatives set forth by its CEO and founder, Ted Walter, A&D was to be second to none in utilizing technology to increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. The supply chain project therefore received notable attention in the boardroom and with its competitors. Time and again, Johnson was asked to tackle difficult assignments that were critical to the company’s growth and profits. He had already been mentioned as the successor to the vice president of e-business, Chuck Gagler, pending his retirement. (See Exhibit 1 for the A&D High Tech organizational chart.) In early May 2003 Johnson received an urgent message from the company’s CIO, Matt Webb. Webb asked Johnson to join him for a meeting with A&D’s senior managers to discuss taking over the company’s online store project. Johnson realized that up to that point the company’s top brass had virtually ignored...
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...| A&D High Tech | Managing Projects for Success | | | Executive Summary: Chris Johnson, an experienced technology project manager for A&D High Tech, was asked to meet with the senior managers to discuss taking over the company’s new web site project. The purpose of the project was to establish an online store to increase sales through the internet. Immediately after his transition meeting with senior management, CIO Matt Webb informed Chris that the CEO needed to know if he could complete the project by Christmas, which was only 6 months away. Although the plan had work scheduled from May 2003 to June 2005, Chris needed to determine if it was feasible to reduce the schedule by 15 months in order to meet his CEO’s needs. Statement of the Problem: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the likelihood that A&D HighTech will be able to implement an online store, comparable to that of its competitors, in time for the 2003 holiday shopping season. Key Problems: * Competitors are gaining market share with their continually improving online capabilities * Company sells on friendly customer service which can be difficult to translate to the internet * A&N needs to have internet sales to stay competitive through reduced SG&A expenses Key Issues: * Steep learning curve for the project manager * Subject matter expert is no longer involved as the project manager * Was build the right option? * The company...
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...The CIO of A&D High Tech, Matt Webb, needs to determine whether the proposed online store project can be completed in time for the holiday shopping season. A new project manager, Chris Johnson, has taken over the management of the project. He has all the components of the plan but he needs to integrate them and is looking to quickly come to an answer. QUESTION 1 What is the projected completion date? (Assume there are no holidays) [30] QUESTION 2 What is the total cost? How much of the total costs are labour costs and capital costs? [10] QUESTION 3 What is the critical path in the project? How would you assess the level of risk in the project? [10] QUESTION 4 What is your opinion on the potential for the project to be completed on time? [10] Your team has been assigned to help Chris Johnson troubleshoot the online store project and develop a presentation and recommendation for Matt Webb. Time is short. The current project analysis has been provided in exhibits 1 & 2 of the A&D High Tech(B) case study. QUESTION 5 As of the 26th of August, what is the project schedule and cost? What are the trends? What is the critical path? [10] QUESTION 6 Given the dimensions of the project and critical path of the project, what can be done to bring the project back on track? [10] QUESTION 7 Is it possible to implement the changes to incorporate the promotional bundles and to complete the project by the 1st of December? What are the necessary...
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...A&D HIGH-TECH: MANAGING PROJECTS FOR SUCCESS Group 11 ² BM A Guru Govind Mishra B10019 Murali P. Pathak B10029 Pranshu Dwivedi B10037 Satish Pandita B10046 Vibhu Mangla B10059 COMPANY HISTORY ´ ´ Founder ² Ted Walter ; Year ² 1988 ; Place ² Lincoln Businesses ² « « « Computer Products Accessories Services 90% sales from mid-western states ´ ´ ´ Revenues - $400 mn in year 2000 « Predominant Sales Channel ² Retail Outlets in shopping malls and Phone Orders handled by 50% call centers in Lincoln Pre 1999 era ² Orders through paper « « « « More time in order entry Delayed Shipments Poor Accuracy 30% customer call-backs Customer call backs reduced to less than 1% ´ ´ ERP implementation in 1999 « Further investment in CRM, supply chain automation, payment process in 2001 REQUIREMENT OF ONLINE SALES CHANNEL ´ Commodity status of A&D·s products « To reduce cost - SG&A expenses ´ Tough competition and decreasing margins « Increasing competitor revenues ´ Initial doubts on customer service and friendliness BUILD VS BUY BUILD Possibility of customization Higher cost of capital involved Differentiating factor Potential benefits in terms of Flexibility Possible competitive advantage Control over the system BUY Only 60% of functional requirements covered Lesser cost involved (some Hidden cost involved) Only a keep-up option Overhead of integration of multiple vendors No competitive advantage...
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...MARK JEFFREY A&D High Tech (A): Administración de Proyectos para Obtener el Éxito En sus doce años como gerente de proyectos de tecnología en A&D High Tech, Chris Johnson contaba con una trayectoria sólida récord para la entrega de proyectos a tiempo y de acuerdo al presupuesto. Las técnicas que utilizaba para la planeación del proyecto, el cálculo, y la programación se habían convertido en una práctica para obtener lo mejor en la compañía de productos para computación con base en St. Louis. Acababa de dirigir a un equipo de proyectos que logró modernizar los sistemas de la cadena de suministro en un tiempo menor a los dieciocho meses. En lo particular, se sentía orgulloso puesto que muchos observadores habían puesto en duda que se pudiera concluir el proyecto a tiempo. Como parte de las iniciativas de estrategia que señaló el Director Ejecutivo y Fundador, Ted Walter, A&D sería la segunda compañía antes que otras en la utilización de tecnología que se aplicaría para incrementar la eficiencia operativa y reducir costos. El proyecto de la cadena de suministro recibió por lo tanto una atención importante en la sala de juntas y de parte de sus competidores. Una y otra vez, se le pidió a Johnson que abordara las tareas difíciles que se presentaban como críticas para el crecimiento y las utilidades de la compañía. Ya se le había dicho que sería el sucesor del vicepresidente de la sección de e-business, Chuck Gagler, Caso © 2006 por la Escuela de Administración de Kellogg, Northwestern...
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...Background of A&D High Tech A&D high-tech sell computer products and accessories to consumers and small businesses. Development of the company‟s online store in 2002 as the company is loosing a competitive advantage without it Chris Johnson: strong experience as project manager Key factors: Very short notice for project undertaking Choice of “build” option for the platform 1 Project and Portfolio Management Procedure for the MS project input 1) Write down the tasks 2)Insert predecessors and constraints 3) Insert resources (material + human resources) 4) Output the data Task inputting Inputting constraints Gantt Chart 2 Project and Portfolio Management Project completion figures From MS project (ignoring the sunk costs): The project is due to finish on the 19/12/2014 if starting on the 14/09/2012 for a total duration of 591 working days. Total project cost: $3,838,120 Labor Costs:$3,739,620 Capital Costs: $98,500 • $36,000 for the workstations (12) • $62,500 for the servers (5) 3 Project and Portfolio Management Critical Path Duration of Critical path = 164 Days 4 Project and Portfolio Management Risk Assessment Approach : Focus on the Critical Tasks Check if resources are fully allocated – this is a risk situation Check for Tasks with multiple predecessors – higher the task dependency, higher the risk Check for longer tasks with multiple resources – these ...
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...Case #3 A&D High Tech (A): Managing Projects for Success: A Negative View 1. What is the estimated project completion date? (Assume there are no holidays and ignore the sunk cost of the planning team’s effort) The estimated project completion date is TUE 11/13/13 with duration of 127 days. After leveling and re-allocating work along the project line, the project got delayed for 3 days so that the completion day moved up to FRI 11/21/13 (total duration of 130 days). (MS Project 2007) 2. What is the total cost? How much of the total cost are labor costs? Capital costs? Total Cost: $98,500 + $844,980 = $943,480 Labor Cost: $ 844,980 (given result of project) Capital Cost: (12 Windows 2000 workstations*$3,000) + (5 Window 2000 servers*$12,500) = $98,500 3. What is (are) the critical path(s) in the project? What is the level of risk in completing tasks on the critical path(s)? Explain. The critical path is added to the appendix of this case report. As shown in Figure 1 and 2, many tasks are correlated so that one critical phase can affect the other. Here, we divided the entire process into three parts: namely by “Detailed Design” part (on the left hand of the network diagram), “Create Functional Requirements (upper side),” and “Development & Unit Test (bottom left side).” Even though, we leveled the resource referring on automated re-allocation methods, except for 7 phases in this project, most of the critical stages remained still critical...
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...http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1792 English connectors > Spanish connectors Here, you will find a verified glossary of translated phrases and words in English and Spanish. To see the list of connectors from Spanish to English, click on the link on the right. ------------------------------------------------- Español > Inglés above > sobre above all > ante todo above all > en primer término above all > sobre todo absolutely > completamente absolutely > completamente de acuerdo absolutely > desde todo punto de vista according to how things are > según estén las cosas according to the book > con todas las reglas del arte according to the book > en regla according to the book > según los cánones according to the book > teóricamente accordingly > consecuentemente accordingly > en consecuencia actually > a decir verdad actually > con efecto actually > de hecho adjacent to > junto a admittedly > por cierto after > después after > tras after a fashion > después de un tiempo after a fashion > en cierto modo after a fashion > hasta cierto punto after a fashion > más o menos after a few hours > tras unas cuantas horas after a few hours > unas cuantas horas después after all > a fin de cuentas after all > al final after all > con todo after all > después de todo after all > en fin de cuentas after all is said and done > a la...
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...1. Assuming that there are no holidays other than weekends and ignoring the sunk cost of the planning team’s effort, what is the expected project completion date? The expected project completion date was Nov 19, 2003 because the project started for May 26, 2003 and the project duration was 127 days. After rearranging the tasks of the project, however, the project needed 4 less days to be achieved, so the expected project completion data would be delayed to Nov 13, 2003 with the project duration of 123 days. 2. What is the total cost? How much of the total cost are labor cost & capital cost? Labor cost: Total Cost as of May 26 2003: $98,500 + $795,180 = $893,680 Labor Cost: $ 795,180 Capital Cost: (12 Windows 2000 workstations*$3,000) + (5 Window 2000 servers*$12,500) = $98,500 Total Cost as of Aug 26 2003: $98,500 + $819,280 = $917,780 Labor Cost: $ 819,280 Capital Cost: (12 Windows 2000 workstations*$3,000) + (5 Window 2000 servers*$12,500) = $98,500 3. List out the critical path(s) in the project. How would you assess the level of risk in the project? What can/should be done about these risks? Critical paths | 1.2.1 Gather Business Process Flows | 1.2.2 Design Business Process Flows | 1.2.4 Create Operation Requirements | 1.2.5 Identify Technical Infrastructure Needs | 1.3.1.2 View and Search Product Catalog | 1.3.1.3 Updating and Calculating Shopping Cart | 1.3.1.5 Submit Order | 1.3.1.6 Check Order History & Order...
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...Example 2015 Annual Report Sensors, Inc.’s Mission Statement: The Mission of Sensors, Inc. is to provide high quality sensors to the electronic sensor industry for distribution world wide. Sensors will produce a variety of sensors in both the High and Low Tech markets using established market specific R&D methods and price them competitively within this highly competitive market. Sensors is committed to producing products that have excellent designs and quality attributes. Original Strategy: At the outset of incorporation, Sensors, Inc.’s management decided that it would concentrate on a strategy of being a Cost Leader with Product Lifecycle Focus. In this strategy, we will focus on keeping our R&D, production and material costs low and compete with the other companies in our industry on the basis of cost. We will introduce new products into the High Tech market every other year or so and allow them to move through the perceptual map into the Low Tech market and then eventually become obsolete. We will measure our performance in terms of Stock Price, ROE and ROS. Environmental Analysis: Electronic sensors are used in a wide variety of industries and applications and are in constant need of modifications to meet customer demands. The customers usually like to purchase smaller sensors with higher performance, especially so in the High Tech Market. In the Low Tech Market, larger, slower sensors are the customer’s choice. A sensor is a device that will sense a change, such...
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...SDA BOCCONI -‐ GEMBA8 CLASS 2015 QUANTITATIVE METHODS PERSONAL ASSIGNMENT DATA ANALYSIS BY LORENZO CORONATI Prof. Maurizio Poli Via Bocconi 8 Office room: 517 (5th floor) E-‐Mail: maurizio.poli@sdabocconi.it 1 1. PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS The main scope of the work and the data analysis consist in developing a multiple linear regression model capable of demonstrate the function between ITC cost and the selected independent variables. All data in this work have been extrapolated from Dataset Eurostat Datawherehouse. The statistical units that have been studied are the 15 countries of the European Community as described in table 1. It has been utilized for the analysis...
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...Example 2015 Annual Report Sensors, Inc.’s Mission Statement: The Mission of Sensors, Inc. is to provide high quality sensors to the electronic sensor industry for distribution world wide. Sensors will produce a variety of sensors in both the High and Low Tech markets using established market specific R&D methods and price them competitively within this highly competitive market. Sensors is committed to producing products that have excellent designs and quality attributes. Original Strategy: At the outset of incorporation, Sensors, Inc.’s management decided that it would concentrate on a strategy of being a Cost Leader with Product Lifecycle Focus. In this strategy, we will focus on keeping our R&D, production and material costs low and compete with the other companies in our industry on the basis of cost. We will introduce new products into the High Tech market every other year or so and allow them to move through the perceptual map into the Low Tech market and then eventually become obsolete. We will measure our performance in terms of Stock Price, ROE and ROS. Environmental Analysis: Electronic sensors are used in a wide variety of industries and applications and are in constant need of modifications to meet customer demands. The customers usually like to purchase smaller sensors with higher performance, especially so in the High Tech Market. In the Low Tech Market, larger, slower sensors are the customer’s choice. A sensor is a device that will sense a change, such...
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... 2015 Annual Report Sensors, Inc.’s Mission Statement: The Mission of Sensors, Inc. is to provide high quality sensors to the electronic sensor industry for distribution world wide. Sensors will produce a variety of sensors in both the High and Low Tech markets using established market specific R&D methods and price them competitively within this highly competitive market. Sensors is committed to producing products that have excellent designs and quality attributes. Original Strategy: At the outset of incorporation, Sensors, Inc.’s management decided that it would concentrate on a strategy of being a Cost Leader with Product Lifecycle Focus. In this strategy, we will focus on keeping our R&D, production and material costs low and compete with the other companies in our industry on the basis of cost. We will introduce new products into the High Tech market every other year or so and allow them to move through the perceptual map into the Low Tech market and then eventually become obsolete. We will measure our performance in terms of Stock Price, ROE and ROS. Environmental Analysis: Electronic sensors are used in a wide variety of industries and applications and are in constant need of modifications to meet customer demands. The customers usually like to purchase smaller sensors with higher performance, especially so in the High Tech Market. In the Low Tech Market, larger, slower sensors are the customer’s choice. A sensor is a device that will sense a change...
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...Consulting has analyzed and broken down the sensor industry into fifteen different sectors ranging from the machine tools, robotics, and medical. These sectors are also categorized into seventy two subsectors but our market analysis focuses on two potential customer groups: * Low Tech * High Tech With constant growth in both customer groups we see the industry not only becoming larger in the future, but also becoming more diverse as technology expands and innovates. Currently, the industry is divided into six competing companies with one company, Ferris, holding a quarter of the market. Our current market share is 16.9% and is, obviously, unacceptable. We plan on revitalizing our market efforts and production strategies so that we may capitalize on this growing and diversifying industry. By investing more into our sales and promotional budgets we can raise awareness for our products and increase the accessibility to our customers. Robot-1 has also made strides in revamping our productions lines to increase capacity for the growing market and to finance increasing automation in production process to reduce labor costs. But as we expand our production capabilities, we are also investing heavily in R&D so as to create competitive products for both customer segmentations. Market Segmentation Demand for sensor products has...
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...discover, and then apply this knowledge to create products, processes and services that fill the needs of new and improved market. Assignment Task : In the last 10 years, the face of innovation and its management has changed. The main driver for this development is the changing role of Asian countries like India and China (e.g., Agarwal and Brem, 2012). Multinational companies (MNCs) used to rank emerging market economies primarily as low-cost locations for routine operations, while most of their research and new product and service development was carried out in the home country, as the creation of new technology was geographically sticky to a company’s headquarters (Patel and Pavitt, 1991). However, research and development (R&D) activities began to shift to developed countries outside of the home countries, producing a...
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