VAN4051 ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SEMESTER 1 – 2016
PMP ASSIGNMENT – BREIF
BACKGROUND
Proprietary Very Limited Corporation (PVLC) is a risk adverse funds manager offering both personal and corporate investment solutions. PVLC has approximately 850 employees operating from offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
PVLC’s has just been through a corporate restructure and the new CEO wants to realign the operations of the business to maximise efficiency through best practice office accommodation and technology. The offices have developed as the business has expanded over the last 10 years and there is significant discrepancy between the state based offices in relation to accommodation and technology standards. The CEO is looking to update the business and future proof it for the forward 5 to 10 year period to ensure staff retainment, attraction of highly skilled new talent, sustained growth and record profits.
THE PROJECT
PVLC requires the services of an experienced Project Management organisation to facilitate the organisational realignment in accordance with the above. The project shall be delivered in two stages which are:
? Stage 1 – Due Diligence
? Stage 2 – Project Delivery
Stage 1 – Due Diligence will involve determining the requirements of PVLC’s business operations and developing a realignment strategy which meets their requirements. This due diligence exercise must inform PVLC of the likely duration of activities, costs, exposure to risk, impact on business operations, change management implications and likely tangible benefits to be received.
Should the project manager’s proposed approach meet PVLC’s commercial, financial and risk requirements; then the project manager’s commission will be extended to include Stage 2 – Project Delivery.
Stage 2 – Project Delivery will involve detailed project planning exercises to confirm the strategy developed in the due diligence exercise and set the framework for the successful realignment of PVLC’s corporate operations across its various state offices. Once this framework is in place, the project manager will be responsible for all aspects of project delivery.
REQUIREMENTS
By assuming that your group has been appointed to provide project management services to PVLC in relation to the Stage 1 - Due Diligence study for the organisational realignment of its National business operations. PVLC requests this Due Diligence report be completed and submitted for review and approval by Monday Week 6 with a detailed presentation to be made to the PVLC board on Week 6..
If the PVLC board agrees with and accepts the strategy, costs, timing and risk profile set out in the Due Diligence report, your group will be commissioned for Stage 2 – Project Delivery. This will take place in Stage 2 and will include a variety of tasks including, but not limited to, setting the project delivery framework and preparing a Project Management Plan (PMP). A detailed brief will be released for Stage 2 at a later date.
This brief for the Stage 1 – Due Diligence exercise provides the project management group with a more detailed understanding of PVLC’s business operations, including the various business units within the organisation, their location, their size and an indication of the type of roles and responsibilities these business units have.
REQUIREMENTS OF THE DUE DILIGENCE REPORT
PVLC expects to receive a concise due diligence reports which as a minimum covers the following areas:
• Timing associated with the project delivery and provision of a detailed programme.
• Risks to be considered and the provision of a detailed risk matrix.
• Change management considerations and the best approach to detail with this during the planning phase to achieve stakeholder buy-in.
• Costs associated with the organisational realignment and the provision of a cashflow which links to the project programme.
• Advice relating to the suitability of our existing accommodation arrangements in Melbourne and Sydney and the potential efficiencies and/or risks associated with co-locating to a single premises in Melbourne and a single premises in Sydney.
• A detailed methodology describing how your group will manage the Stage 2 – Project Delivery and facilitate the organisational realignment. This includes confirming the roles and responsibilities of the project manager during the project delivery phase, the need for and roles associated with various specialist consultants and identification of the lines of communication between PVLC, the project manager, the project team and other stakeholders in the project.
This due diligence exercise and report should be focused on PVLC’s business operations and the benefits, risks, etc, associated with the corporate realignment. However, in order to properly scope the works the following assumptions must be made:
• All commercial space will undergo an upgrade to achieve PCA ‘A’ grade standard. This will entail new work stations, minor upgrades to adjacent surfaces (carpets, ceiling tiles, etc) and full refit of meeting rooms and collaboration spaces.
• Full refit of staff amenities, eg kitchen / lounge areas.
• No base building upgrades.
• IT infrastructure will remain in its current state however collaboration technology will receive a full upgrade. This will entail video conferencing facilities, plasma/LCD screens, projectors, team boards, etc in board rooms, meeting rooms and informal collaboration spaces (a key focus is on improving internal communication both within state offices and across our National operations).
• Business operations to remain in current premises in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
• Works must not impact more than 20% of the staff population in any one office and any one time.
• Works to be completed by June 2017.
PVLC’S BUSINESS OPERATIONS
As per the request for proposal documentation, PVLC is a risk adverse funds manager offering both personal and corporate investment solutions. PVLC has approximately 850 employees operating from offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
PVLC’s has just been through a corporate restructure and the new CEO wants to realign the operations of the business to maximise efficiency through best practice office accommodation and technology. The offices have developed as the business has expanded over the last 10 years and there is significant discrepancy between the state based offices in relation to accommodation and technology standards. The CEO is looking to update the business and future proof it for the forward 5-10 year period to ensure staff retainment, improved morale, attraction of highly skilled new talent, sustained growth and record profits.
PVLC has 5 primary business divisions (all states) and 3 support divisions (Melbourne only except for Admin which is present in each office), resulting in a total of 8 business units. The divisions and types of employees working within these divisions are identified below:
Financial Planning (business operation division)
• Financial Planners
• Adviser
• Para planners
• Technical Specialists
• Researchers
Operations (business operation division)
• Fund Administrators
• Call Centre Consultants
• Portfolio Managers
• Product Specialists
• Underwriters
• Claims Assessors
Sales & Marketing (business operation division)
• Business Development Managers
• Account Managers
• Product Managers
• Research Analysts
• Portfolio Managers
• Communications Specialists
• Technical Specialists
Finance (business operation division)
• Accountants
• Taxation Managers
• Financial Analysts
• Business Analysts
• Commissions Officers
• Actuaries
Risk Management (business operation division)
• Compliance
• Government & Regulatory Affairs
• Dispute Resolution
• Product Legal Services
• Corporate Legal Services
Information Technology
• IT Analysts
• Analyst Programmers
• Systems Administrators
• Network Engineers
• Project Managers
• SAP Consultants
• Helpdesk Operators
Human Resources
• Recruitment Specialists
• Remuneration Consultants
• Human Resource Managers
• Strategy Consultants
• Training Specialists
Administration / Support Staff
• Various administration and support staff working in conjunction with the rest of the business
As a risk adverse professional service provider, business continuity is a primary concern for PVLC. It is estimated that PVLC would incur an average income loss of $2,500 per day/per employee should business continuity be jeopardised. This would equate to approximately $2,125,000 per day if business services were disrupted across the entire National operation.
CURRENT ACCOMMODATION
The 7 existing sites occupied by PVLC and the number of staff at each site is as follows:
Office 1
101 Collins Street, Melbourne – 250 staff, 2 floors at approximately 1,650sqm
Office 2
180 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne – 125 staff, 1 floor at approximately 1,750sqm
Office 3
50 Bridge Street, Sydney – 135 staff, 1 floor at approximately 1,530
Office 4
73 Miller Street, North Sydney – 100 staff, 1 floor at approximately 1,480sqm
Office 5
175 Eagle Street, Brisbane – 120 staff, 1 floor at approximately 1,690sqm
Office 6
77 St Georges Terrace, Perth – 60 staff, half a floor at approximately 1,725sqm
Office 7
47 Pirie Street, Adelaide – 60 staff, half a floor at approximately 1,600sqm
WHO IS WHERE
As set out above, PVLC have 7 offices across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide and an aggregate of 850 staff operating from these offices. Below is a table which identifies the 9 business units, their number of employees and there current locations:
Business Unit Number of Employees Allocation to each office
Office 1 Office 2 Office 3 Office 4 Office 5 Office 6 Office 7
Financial Planning 260 80 20 50 20 50 20 20
Operations 250 40 60 30 60 20 20 20
Sales & Marketing 120 30 30 20 10 10 10 10
Finance 80 40 10 10 5 5 5 5
Risk Management 70 20 - 20 - 30 - -
Information Technology 10 10 - - - - - -
Human Resources 5 5 - - - - - -
Executive Management / Business Accounts 15 15 - - - - - -
Administration / Support 40 10 5 5 5 5 5 5
Total Number of Staff 850 250 125 135 100 120 60 60
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The submission date for of your Exercise 1 report is on or before Monday Week 6 and you will present your findings to the PVLC board on Week 6 during the workshop.
VERBAL PRESENTATION
Twenty (10) minutes has been allocated for each group to present to the assessment panel. A further five (5) minutes has been allocated to each group for questioning. At the conclusion of all presentations, brief comments will be made on the content and quality.
To assist in meeting these strict time constraints:
• Only 2 group members are required to present the key aspects of your report.
• Those who did not verbally present the Exercise 1 report are required to be the presenters of the Exercise 2 report.
ASSESSMENT
You will be assessed on both the written report and the verbal presentation. The report counts for approximately 2/3 of the total mark.
• Assessment or course related issues: Vinayaga Sarma, telephone 9919 4714. If not available, please leave a message or send an e-mail.
The project is primarily an academic exercise designed to expose students to realistic situations.