GREEN COMPUTING RESEARCH PROJECT-simulated project
To illustrate: there are five parts, and each part has several of tasks.
First of all, you are going to read all of the project, so you can understand the case. Then you are going to start answering the tasks as it requested. For example, some of the tasks ask for summary, and some of them ask for analyzing, and some of them ask for chart, and some of the tasks ask for WBS, and Etc.
I requested 35 pages in this order. And I want you please to answer them clearly and carefully and with much details. Please answer the parts as it asked in the simulated project that I gave you in the attachment.
You have 7 days to do this order, and you have all the 7 days to do it. But please don’t cross the deadlines.
write 15-20 references that you used related to the project.
GREEN COMPUTING RESEARCH PROJECT
Part 1: Project Integration Management
You are working for We Are Big, Inc., an international firm with over 100, 000 employees located in several different countries. A strategic goal is to help improve the environment while increasing revenues and reducing costs. The Environmental Technologies Program just started, and the VP of Operations, Natalie, is the program sponsor. Ito is the program manager, and there is a steering committee made up of ten senior executives, including Natalie, overseeing the program. There are several projects underneath this program, one being the Green Computing Research Project. The CIO and project sponsor, Ben, has given this project high priority and plans to hold special interviews to hand-pick the project manager and team. Ben is also a member of the program steering committee. The main purpose of the Green Computing Research Project is to research possible applications of green computing including:
• Data center and overall energy efficiency
• The disposal of electronic waste and recycling
• Telecommuting
• Virtualization of server resources
• Thin client solutions
• Use of open source software, and
• Development of new software to address green computing for internal use and
• potential sale to other organizations
The budget for the project was $650, 000, and the goal was to provide an extensive report, including detailed financial analysis and recommendations on what green computing technologies to implement. Official project request forms for the recommended solutions would also be created as part of the project.
Ben decided to have a small group of people, five to be exact, dedicated to working on this six-month project full-time and to call on people in other areas on an as-needed basis. He wanted to personally be involved in selecting the project manager and have that person help him to select the rest of the project team. Ben wanted to find people already working inside the company, but he was also open to reviewing applications for potential new employees to work specifically on this project as long as they could start quickly. Since many good people were located in different parts of the world, Ben thought it made sense to select the best people he could find and allow them to work virtually on the project. Ben also wanted the project manager to do more than just manage the project. He or she would also do some of the research, writing, editing, and the like required to produce the desired results. He was also open to paying expert consultants for their advice and purchasing books and related articles, as needed.
Tasks
1. Research green computing and projects that have been done or are being done by large organizations such as IBM, Dell, HP, and Google. See www.greenercomputing.com and similar sites provided on the companion Web site or that you find yourself. Include your definition of green computing to include all of the topics listed in the background scenario. Describe each of these areas of green computing, including a detailed example of how at least one organization has implemented each one, and investigate the return on investment. Summarize your results in a two- to three-page paper, citing at least three references.
2. Prepare a weighted decision matrix for Ben to use to evaluate people applying to be the project manager for this important project. Develop at least five criteria, assign weights to each criterion, assign scores, and then calculate the weighted scores for four fictitious people. Print the spreadsheet and bar chart with the results. Write a one-page paper describing this weighted decision matrix and summarize the results.
3. Prepare the financial section of a business case for the Green Computing Research Project. Assume this project will take six months to complete (done in Year 0) and cost $650,000, and costs to implement some of the technologies would be $3,250,000 for year one and $750,000 for years two and three. Estimated benefits are $800,000 the first year after implementation and $3.75 million in each the following two years. Prepare a business case spreadsheet to help calculate the NPV, ROI, and the year in which payback occurs. Assume a 5 percent discount rate, but make sure it is an input that is easy to change.
4. Prepare a project charter for the Green Computing Research Project. Assume the project will take six months to complete and the budget is $650,000. Assume that part of the approach is to select the project team as quickly as possible.
5. Since people will request changes to the project, you want to make sure you have a good integrated change control process in place. You will also want to address change requests as quickly as possible. Write a two-page paper describing how you plan to manage changes on this project in a timely manner. Address who will be involved in making change control decisions, what paperwork or electronic systems will be used to collect and respond to changes, and other related issues.
Part 2: Project Scope Management
Congratulations! You have been selected as the project manager for the Green Computing Research Project. The company s CIO, Ben, is the project sponsor, and Ito is the program manager for the larger Environmental Technologies Program that this project is part of. Now you need to put together your project team and get to work on this high-visibility project. You will work with Ben to hand-pick your team. Ben had already worked with the HR department to advertise these openings internally as well as outside the company. Ben had also used his personal contacts to let people know about this important project. In addition, you are encouraged to use outside consultants and other resources, as appropriate. Initial estimates suggest that about $325,000 budgeted for this project will go to internal staffing and the rest to outside sources. The main products you will produce will be a series of research reports one for each green computing technology listed earlier plus one final report including all data plus formal project proposals for at least four recommendations for implementing some of these technologies. Ben also suggested that the team come up with at least 20 different project ideas and then recommend the top four based on extensive analysis. Ben thought some type of decision support model would make sense to help collect and analyze the project ideas. You are expected to tap into resources available from the Environmental Technologies Program, but you will need to include some of those resources in your project budget. Ben mentioned that he knew there had already been some research done on increasing the use of telecommuting. Ben also showed you examples of what he considered to be good research reports. You notice that his examples are very professional, with a lot of charts and references, and most are 20 30 pages long, single-spaced. Ben has also shown you examples of good formal project proposals for We Are Big, Inc., and you are surprised to see how detailed they are, as well. They often reference other research and include a detailed business case.
Tasks
1. Document requirements for your project so far, including a requirements traceability matrix. Also include a list of questions you would like to ask the sponsor about the scope.
2. Develop a scope statement for the project. Be as specific as possible in describing product characteristics and deliverables. Make assumptions as needed, assuming you got answers to the questions you had in Task 1.
3. Develop a work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project. Break down the work to level 3 or level 4, as appropriate. Print the WBS in list form as a Word file. Be sure to Base your WBS on the project scope statement, stakeholder requirements, and other relevant information. Remember to include the work involved in selecting the rest of your project team and outside resources as well as coordinating with the Environmental Technologies Program. Use the project management process groups as level 2 WBS items or include project management as a level 2 WBS item to make sure you include work related to managing the project.
4. Use the WBS you developed in Task 3 above to create a Gantt chart for the project in Microsoft Project. Use the outline numbering feature to display the outline numbers (click Tools on the menu bar, click Options, and then click Show outline number). Do not enter any durations or dependencies. Print the resulting Gantt chart on one page, being sure to display the entire Task Name column.
Part 3: Project Time Management
As project manager, you are actively leading the Green Computing Research Project team in developing a schedule. You and Ben found three internal people and one new hire to fill the positions on the project team as follows:
• Matt was a senior technical specialist in the corporate IT department located in the building next to yours and Ben s. He is an expert in collaboration technologies and volunteers in his community helping to organize ways for residents to dispose of computers, printers, and cell phones.
• Teresa was a senior systems analyst in the IT department in a city 500 miles away from your office. She just finished an analysis of virtualization of server resources for her office, which has responsibility for the company s data center.
• James was a senior consultant in the strategic research department in a city 1,000 miles away from your office. He has a great reputation as being a font of knowledge and excellent presenter. Although he is over 60, he has a lot of energy.
• Lee was a new hire and former colleague of Ben s. She was working in Malaysia, but she planned to move to your location, starting work about four weeks after the project started. Lee has a lot of theoretical knowledge in green computing, and her doctoral thesis was on that topic.
While waiting for everyone to start working on your project, you talked to several people working on other projects under the Environmental Technologies Program and did some research on green computing. You can use a fair amount of the work already done on telecommuting, and you have the name of a consulting firm to help with that part of your project, if needed. Ito and Ben both suggested that you get up to speed on available collaboration tools since much of your project work will be done virtually. They knew that Matt would be a tremendous asset for your team in that area. You have also contacted other IT staff to get detailed information on your company s needs and plans in other areas of green computing. You also found out that there is a big program meeting in England next month that you and one or two of your team members should attend. It is a three-day meeting, plus travel. Recall that the Green Computing Research Project is expected to be completed in six months, and you and your four team members are assigned full-time to this project. Your project sponsor, Ben, has made it clear that delivering a good product is most important, but he also thinks you should have no problem meeting your schedule goal. He can authorize additional funds, if needed. You have decided to hire a part-time editor/consultant, Deb, whom you know from a past job to help your team produce the final reports and project proposals. Your team has agreed to add a one-week buffer at the end of the project to ensure that you finish on time or early.
Tasks
1. Review the WBS and Gantt chart you created for Tasks 3 and 4 in Part 2. Propose three to five additional activities you think should be added to help you estimate resources and durations. Write a one-page paper describing these new activities.
2. Identify at least four milestones for this project. Write a one-page paper describing each milestone using the SMART criteria.
3. Using the Gantt chart created for Task 4 in Part 2, and the new activities and milestones you proposed in Tasks 1 and 2 above, estimate the task durations and enter dependencies as appropriate. Remember that your schedule goal for the project is six months. Print the Gantt chart and network diagram.
4. Write a one-page paper summarizing how you would assign people to each activity. Include a table or matrix listing how many hours each person would work on each task each week. These resource assignments should make sense given the duration estimates made in Task 3 above.
Part 4: Project Cost Management
Your project sponsor has asked you and your team to refine the existing cost estimate for the project so that there is a solid cost baseline for evaluating project performance. Recall that your original cost goal was to complete the project for under $650, 000.
Tasks
1. Prepare and print a planned cost budget for the project. Be sure to print the weekly cost estimate for each week. You may add additional columns to the matrix from Part 3 task 4 to produce the budget for the project. Be sure to document assumptions you make in preparing the cost estimate. Assume a burdened labor rate of $140/hour for the project manager, $138 for Teresa, James, and Lee, and $126/hour for Matt. Assume about $355/hour for outsourced labor.
2. What is the BAC for the project? What is your Planned Value at the end of 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 15 weeks?
3. Use the cost estimate you created in task 1. Assume you have completed three months of the project and have actual data. The BAC was $650,000 for this six-month project. Also assume the following:
PV $272,000
EV $260,000
AC $299,000
Using this information, write a short report that answers the following questions.
a. What is the cost variance, schedule variance, cost performance index (CPI), and schedule performance index (SPI) for the project?
b. Use the CPI to calculate the estimate at completion (EAC) for this project. Use the SPI to estimate how long it will take to finish this project. Sketch an earned value chart using the above information, including the EAC point. Write a paragraph explaining what this chart shows.
c. How is the project doing? Is it ahead of schedule or behind schedule? Is it under budget or over budget? Should you alert your sponsor or other senior management and ask for assistance?
4. You notice that several of the tasks that involve getting inputs from consultants outside of your own company have cost more and taken longer to complete than planned. You have talked to the consultants several times, but they say they are doing the best they can. You also underestimated travel costs for this project. Write a one-page paper describing corrective action you could take to address these problems.
Part 5: Project Quality Management
The Green Computing Research Project team is working hard to ensure their work meets expectations. The team has a detailed project scope statement, schedule, and so on, but as the project manager, you want to make sure you will satisfy key stakeholders, especially Ben, the project sponsor, and Ito, the program manager. You have seen how tough Ito can be on project managers after listening to his critiques of other project managers at the monthly program review meeting. He was adamant on having solid research and financial analysis and liked to see people use technology to make quick what-if projections. You were impressed to see that several other project teams had developed computer models to help them perform sensitivity analysis and make important decisions. Most of the models were done using Excel, which Ito preferred, and you were glad that you were an expert with Excel, as was Matt. Ito was pretty easy on you at your first monthly review because things were just getting started, but he did give you a list of items to report on next month. You had Ben there to help answer some of the tough questions, but you wanted to be able to hold your own at future monthly meetings.
Tasks
1. Develop a list of at least five quality standards or requirements related to meeting the stakeholder expectations especially for Ben and Ito. Also provide a brief description of each standard or requirement. For example, a requirement might be related to the computer model (that the computer model you create to analyze the 20 or more technologies be done in Excel ). Other standards or requirements might be related to the quality of the financial analysis and research you use.
2. Review the Seven Basic Tools of Quality. Pick one and make up a scenario related to this project where it would be useful. Document the scenario and tool in a one-to-two page paper.
3. Find a high quality research report related to the green computing. Summarize the report and why you think it is of high quality in a one-to-two page paper.
