Resource Allocation and Management
In this piece of work, you will be assessed based on the following outcome:
Analyze potential resource conflicts. This work is designed to evaluate your ability to assign the right resource to do the right work at the right time. Please note that resources include people, capital, equipment, and technology. Please note that key stakeholders may require changes to the original scope, and it is important that you consider the impact on the schedule and budget.
The mayor of San Bernardino, CA recently met with the chief of police, and the discussion focused on decreasing the number of traffic accidents. A recent study shows that San Bernardino has a fatal accident rate of roughly 16 deaths per 100,000 residents. Chief of Police, Jarrod Burguan, recommended to Mayor Carey Davis, the use of an automated enforcement system, which are units that can track a car’s speed and create a video file of each event. Mr. Burguan attended a presentation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) where he learned that fixed-camera speed enforcement units may reduce crashes by as much as 25%. After this discussion, Mayor Davis submitted the automated enforcement system proposal to the city council. The proposal was reviewed per normal procedures, and the feedback from the community was positive. While getting a speeding citation is unfortunate, the people of San Bernardino agreed that the problem needed to be addressed, especially since auto insurance rates were rising. To make the transition easier, Phase 1 of the project is to install the units in the 17 high-crash locations identified by the police department. Amanda Lancaster and Josh Cervantes were the two project managers from the City assigned to this important initiative. The schedule for the project was 14-months, and a budget of $2.3 million was approved. The money would cover all resource costs, including contractors, equipment, supplies, technology, and so on. At the 11-month mark, the project was behind schedule with only 8 units installed. The other notable problem facing Amanda and Josh was that all $2.3 million of the budget was spent. Aware of the situation, Mayor Davis has called Amanda and Josh for a meeting to discuss the situation.
For this piece of work, take the role of Amanda and Josh and provide responses to the following items:
a) What proactive actions do you believe Amanda and Josh could have taken to keep the project on schedule?
b) Given the project has spent the $2.3M budget, what is your recommendation regarding the nine (9) units that have to be installed? From a cost perspective, what are the options available to Amanda and Josh?
c) A key council member wants assurance that the project will be completed in three (3) months or less. How will you address this individual?
d) Amanda and Josh are concerned that people and equipment assigned for the project are sometimes unavailable when scheduled. What are reasons this problem might be surfacing during the execution phase?
e) Based on what you learned from this work, what are five (5) lessons learned that you can share with the project managers.
Components:
● Title page formatted in APA 6th edition style with the following information: Title of the paper, your name, course number and section number, and date.
● A table of contents using the following headers:
Ø Introduction,
Ø Getting Project Back on Schedule,
Ø Securing Additional Funds,
Ø Key Stakeholder Wants Project Completed in 3 Months,
Ø Resources are Unavailable,
Ø Conclusion,
Ø and References.
● A minimum of three scholarly journal and textbook source references cited and credited according to APA 6th edition formatting style using a minimum of six in-text citations.
● The paper should be focused and to the point, containing between 700–850 words specific to the table of contents items, excluding references.
Important areas to consider:
Earned Amanda and Josh’s proposed options to get the project back on schedule. 10 points
Provided recommendation regarding the nine (9) units that have to be installed. Provided how the additional funds can be secured to complete this project. 10points
Provided assurance to the key council member on how the project will be completed in three (3) months or less. 10points
Described the reasons for unavailable equipment during the execution phase. 10points
Based on what you learned from this work, what are five (5) lessons learned that you can share with the project managers. 10points
Analysis Response exhibits strong higher-order critical thinking and analysis (e.g., evaluation). Submission shows original thought. 5points
Analysis includes proper classifications, explanations, comparisons, and inferences. 5points
Critical thinking includes appropriate judgments, conclusions, and assessment based on evaluation and synthesis of information. 5points
Writing (0-15 points)
Grammatical skills are strong with typically less than one error per page. Correct use of APA 6th edition. 5points
Appropriate to this work, fresh (interesting to read), accurate, (no far-fetched, unsupported comments), precise (say what you mean), clear introduction and conclusion, and concise (not wordy). 5points
Paper is in 12-point font, and double-spaced with a double space between. Paper is free of serious errors; grammar, punctuation, and spelling help to clarify the meaning by following accepted conventions. At least three scholarly journal and textbook sources are cited and referenced in APA 6th edition format. Content is between 700–850 words specific to the table of content items (excluding references). 5 points