MBA642: Project Initiation, Planning and Execution

Task breakdown

Executive summary

The executive summary section provides a concise overview of the entire project proposal as it highlights key points including project key objectives, software implementation plans and immediate outcomes. To successfully complete executive summary, you must follow below steps-

• Summarize main points from proposal created
• Main focus should be on key objectives and outcomes
• Write executive summary after completing the entire report

Company overview

As the name states, students are required to provide a brief overview of the company, introduce the company, its core business operations, background details, current activities and essential project requirements. List of actions which must be performed for completion of this section are -

• Research company’s history and current activities
• Identify relevant key stakeholders and their roles
• Highlight the need for the project

Project outline

The project outline section requires students to provide detailed overview of the project, including brief details of project background, context, main objectives and primary work packages. Here, work packages imply different stages or phases of the project that will be followed for its timely completion. Steps to clearly provide project outline are listed below –

• Clearly articulate project’s background and context
• Define project objectives and deliverables
• Break down project into different phases or main work packages

Profile lifecycle and work packages

This section requires students to clearly outline project lifecycle stages and work packages, here, students are required to break down project into easily manageable steps and tasks, this is primarily to ensure effective project management. In general, project lifecycle typically comprises of five stages which include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring & controlling, closure. In this section, students are required to describe each phase in detail outlining specific work packages which outline key tasks and deliverables. Also, students are required to provide details of the project team and requirements in a clear and concise way. Different steps to complete this task are listed below –

• Identify main stages of project lifecycle
• Break down each stage into specific work package
• Highlight main project tasks and deliverables for each package

Resource requirements

In this section, students are required to provide details of the resources which will be needed for timely completion of this project. There are diverse range of resources which are normally required for completion of a project, this may include financial resources, human personnel, space or equipment resources etc. This section will cover details regarding required resources for successful project delivery. To complete this section, students are required to follow below steps -

• Identify staff or human personnel needed (outlining their roles and responsibilities)
• List the materials and equipment needed
• Outline any services or external approvals or permits needed

Work breakdown structure (WBS)

In this section, students are required to create a work breakdown structure using Microsoft Project named software tool, listing main work packages and sub-packages which will be needed for ensuring successful delivery of this project. Students must make sure that the WBS created fully highlights key tasks and elements of project, by simply breaking down into easily manageable sub-tasks. Different steps to complete this task are listed below -

• Start defining high-level tasks and break them into smaller and more easily manageable tasks (on MS project tool)
• Outline project milestones, dependencies and resources requirements
• Save .mpp file with relevant name

Gantt Chart

In this part, you will need to provide a detailed project schedule outlining at least 20 tasks and a maximum of 40, and make sure that your Gantt chart showcases task dependencies and timelines. You are required to follow below steps for successful completion of this task,

• Open .mpp file (open file in which WBS was created for this project)
• Click on Gantt Chart and take screenshots of the chart highlighting dependencies between task
• Append these screenshots in word document

Scheduling flowchart (Network diagram)

In this task, you will need to provide scheduling flowchart to display task dependencies and project’s critical path including minimum of 12 activities. To complete this task, you must follow below listed steps –

• Open .mpp file (open file in which WBS was created for this project)
• Click on View 🡪 Network Diagram
• Then take screenshots of network diagram and append it in main word document

Risk assessment plan

This is the last section in which you are required to create a comprehensive risk management plan for identification and classification of project related risks, along with description of project likelihood and severity, for this, you are required to add risk PI matrix table. After adding this, you need to create a mitigation and action plan for addressing most critical risks identified. To complete this, you must follow below steps –

• Identify potential risks related to the project
• List the risks based on their severity levels (criticality factor)
• Add risk probability * impact matrix
• Create risk table comprising columns – Risk ID, risk description, risk impact, risk probability, risk mitigation and action plan to define action or strategies to manage risks

Company Overview

Brief Company Background and Operations

HealthPlus Hospital, a leading healthcare institution, strives to provide high quality healthcare to patients. HealthPlus Hospital operates in a dynamic operational setting that requires optimal patient flow management and strategic resource allocation and staff scheduling, especially during times of surge in healthcare demand. HealthPlus Hospital provides complete medical services while maintaining its standards of patient care with operational efficiency as its main priority.

Why Project Management Software is Needed:

HealthPlus Hospital requires project management software as it needs to address operational management complexities within its healthcare system. Current manual management systems create performance issues in terms of patient tracking and resource distribution as well as staff scheduling (Popescu et al., 2022). Such situations lead to time delays and miscommunication as well as a decline in the quality of care. Through the implementation of project management software, the organization can achieve operational streamlining and team collaboration integration that enables full compliance with healthcare regulations including HIPAA.

Essential Requirements for This Project:

The project demands several essential requirements such as-

• Patient Management: The system should track patient status together with their care progress (Mishra et al., 2018).
• Resource & Staff Allocation: Centralized scheduling for shifts and managing medical supplies.
• Compliance & Documentation: Templates for documenting patient care with HIPAA compliance.
• Inventory Management: Real-time tracking of essential medical supplies.
• Data Security: Ensuring compliance with healthcare regulations (Abouelmehdi et al., 2018).
• Real-time Scheduling: The system should enable real time scheduling for healthcare staff who need to adjust to immediate changes in patient care.
• User Accessibility: An interface adaptable to medical staff with varying technical skills.

Project Outline

Background and Rationale:

HealthPlus Hospital implements project management software as it ought to improve operational efficiency and enhance the quality of patient care during a healthcare boom. Currently, manual systems result in performance gaps with regard to resource allocation and workforce scheduling as well as patient care flow, therefore healthcare standards and quality of patient care are affected accordingly (Harbi et al., 2024). The implementation of technological solutions at HealthPlus Hospital will lead to process optimization that promotes team coordination and improved healthcare outcomes.

Key objectives

The main project objectives are listed below -

• The first key objective is to design a system which can track patient status and care progress in an effective manner
• Second objective is to develop a centralized tool which can be used for multiple reasons like scheduling shifts and managing medical supplies
• Thirdly, project aims to create templates which can be for documentation purposes ( so as to document patient care)
• One key objective is to ensure compliance to relevant regulatory standards, like HIPAA framework
• To develop a system which can help to facilitate easily tracking of medical supplies so as to ensure changing patient demands
• Another key objective is to implement dynamic scheduling so that changing patient demands can be met in an easy and efficient manner
• Also, it is a key objective to design an easy to understand user interface which medical staff (with varying skills and competencies) can find easy to interact with.

Primary Work Packages

As far as primary work packages are concerned, it is important to note that the given project will be structured around below specified key work packages, these are listed below. The tabular matrix presented below clearly outlines project main work packages and corresponding list of activities which will be carried out these primary work packages -

Project Lifecycle and Work package

The project life cycle consists of five key phases: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and closure.

Initiation Phase

Purpose: In the initial phase, projects establish their essential foundational elements through objective definition, along with scope clarification and feasibility assessment (Watt, 2015).

Key Activities:

• Identify stakeholders (e.g., hospital administrators, IT staff, medical teams).
• Define project goals, such as improving patient care efficiency and streamlining resource allocation.
• Conduct a feasibility study to evaluate technical and financial viability.
• Develop a business case outlining the benefits of implementing the software.

Deliverables:

• Approved project charter.
• Stakeholder register.
• Preliminary risk assessment.

Baseline for Risk Identification: In this phase, potential risks that may lead to budgetary problems along with security risks and change resistance are identified.

Planning Phase

Purpose: During this phase the project goals converts into practical tasks through specific schedules along with resource delivery methods and risk mitigation approaches.

Key Activities:

• Craft a complement document that lists all the tasks and their details along with the interrelationships between them
• Selected resources needed to be allocated for example, IT staff for software integration & trainers for training purposes
• Establish protocols to maintain regular updates between various stakeholders throughout the process
• Establish measurable milestones.

Deliverables

• Project roadmap with Gantt chart.
• Resource allocation plan.
• Risk management plan with likelihood-impact matrix.

Project Team Requirements

• Project Manager
• IT Specialists
• Change Management Team
• Healthcare Staff Representatives

Execution Phase

Purpose: The deployment of the system begins once the planning phase is accomplished. The acquired software is implemented by configuring and integrating with the existing systems.

Key Activities

• Procure software licenses (e.g., Jira or Trello) and ensure compatibility with existing tools like EMR systems (Kamila & Marzuq, 2024).
• Migrate existing data to the new system while ensuring data security protocols are followed.
• Conduct training sessions for hospital staff to familiarize them with the software’s functionalities.
• Execute pilot testing in one department before full-scale deployment.

Deliverables

• Configured project management software integrated with hospital systems.
• Completed training sessions with feedback from participants.
• Pilot test report highlighting areas for improvement.

Monitoring and Controlling Phase

Purpose: This phase ensures that the project stays on track by continuously monitoring progress against the plan. Deviations are identified early to implement corrective actions.

Key Activities

• Track progress using tools like Gantt charts or Kanban boards within the software.
• Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), such as task completion rates or user adoption metrics.
• Address bottlenecks (e.g., delays in training or technical issues) through resource reallocation or timeline adjustments.

Deliverables

• Progress reports shared with stakeholders.
• Updated risk register reflecting new risks or changes in severity.

Baseline for Risk Mitigation: Risks such as technical failures during integration or low staff adoption rates are actively monitored. Mitigation strategies include additional training sessions or hiring external consultants for technical support (Espíndola et al., 2022).

Closure Phase:

Purpose: The closure phase finalizes all activities related to the project. It ensures that deliverables meet stakeholder expectations and captures lessons learned for future projects.

Key Activities

• Conduct post-project reviews to assess overall success against objectives.
• Gather feedback from stakeholders (e.g., healthcare staff) on system usability and impact on operations.
• Archive project documents for compliance purposes.
• Release resources (e.g., IT staff) back to their respective departments.

Deliverables: The main project deliverables are listed below -

• Compiled project documents, including documents summarizing outcomes, challenges encountered, and strategies applied
• Staff user manuals (guidebook for smooth use of new system)
• Recommendations for continuous enhancement in system usage

Key work packages : The below listed are major project work packages, outlining main project phase along with some activities which will be performed under each main work package -

Baseline for identifying risks: It is important to note that baseline risk assessment identifies possible challenges such as

• Non-compliance with HIPAA regulations during migration
• Staff resistance because of unfamiliarity with solutions
• Delays in procurement owing to vendor issues

Resource Requirements

To ensure the successful delivery of the project management software implementation at HealthPlus Hospital, the following resources are required:

WBS

Gantt Chart

Risk Assessment Plan

Risk Identification

Risk Probability * Impact Matrix

Risk Assessment

Mitigation and Action Plan

References

• Abouelmehdi, K., Hessane, A. B., & Khaloufi, H. (2018). Big healthcare data: preserving security and privacy. Journal of Big Data, 5(1). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40537-017-0110-7
• Coombs, C., Hislop, D., Taneva, S. K., & Barnard, S. (2020). The Strategic Impacts of Intelligent Automation for Knowledge and Service work: an Interdisciplinary Review. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 29(4), 101600. Sciencedirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963868720300081
• Espíndola, O. R. -, Chowdhury, S., Dey, P. K., Albores, P., & Emrouznejad, A. (2022). Analysis of the adoption of emergent technologies for risk management in the era of digital manufacturing. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 178(1), 121562. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162522000944
• Fabiana Scione, Khaled Yousef Abdelmaula, Balzan, D., Falzon, S., & Sultana, J. (2023). Integrating Software Into Hospital Quality Structures: What Practices Do Pharmaceutical Inspector Co-Operation Scheme (PIC/S) Guidelines Recommend? the Journal of Pharmacy Technology, 40(1), 50–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551225231210723
• Harbi, S. A., Aljohani, B., Elmasry, L., Baldovino, F. L., Raviz, K. B., Altowairqi, L., & Alshlowi, S. (2024). Streamlining patient flow and enhancing operational efficiency through case management implementation. BMJ Open Quality, 13(1), e002484. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002484
• Kamila, J. S., & Marzuq, M. F. (2024). Asana and Trello: A Comparative Assessment of Project Management Capabilities. JOIV : International Journal on Informatics Visualization, 8(1), 207–212. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/379486813_Asana_and_Trello_A_Comparative_Assessment_of_Project_Management_Capabilities
• Mishra, S. R., Miller, A. D., Haldar, S., Khelifi, M., Eschler, J., Elera, R. G., Pollack, A. H., & Pratt, W. (2018). Supporting Collaborative Health Tracking in the Hospital. Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174224
• Nass, S. J., Levit, L. A., & Gostin, L. O. (2019). HIPAA, the Privacy Rule, and Its Application to Health Research. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9573/
• Popescu, C., Chaarani, H. E., Abiad, Z. E., & Gigauri, I. (2022). Implementation of health information systems to improve patient identification. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215236
• Watt, A. (2015, August 15). Project Initiation – Project Management. Opentextbc.ca. https://opentextbc.ca/projectmanagement/chapter/chapter-7-project-initiation-project-management/