Answer

A Project Briefing Report

Background

Deliva is an organization based in Sydney that offers parcel courier services. Started in 2000, the company has been struggling to remain ahead in the competitive Sydney courier environment. Presently, all parcel pick-ups and deliveries are ordered through telephone with a call center that comprises three employees organizing the orders and deliveries.

Issues

            In the modern era of technology and application, for Deliva to remain technologically relevant and competitive, they have to be dedicated to establishing a digital or online booking and tracking system that is aimed at ideal delivery and automated customer contact and interaction.

Objective:

The main goal of our company is to become not only the safest but also the fastest delivery in Sydney through an online portal. Our client will enjoy using either mobile phones or computers to reach us. Our services will be automated where clients will be able to access their booking utilizing motor vehicles, bicycle, van, or even motorbike. Moreover, the company will also engage GPS services where the client will have the luxury of tracking their courier using handheld devices.

Business Plan:

Deliva is an international and delivery company that is registered and licensed. The primary goal of the company is to become the best company in Sydney that offers delivery services. The company is quite aware of stiff competition that characterizes the courier delivery services in Sydney. In Sydney, there are all sorts of courier companies both small and big. Therefore, the company has spent resources and time to undertake feasibility studies as a way of positioning its business in a highly competitive environment. Moreover, the company is also of an important role that customers play. Consequently, the company is committed to offering top-quality services to its customers. Furthermore, the company is keen on satisfying the customers because we believe that a satisfied customer becomes not only loyal but also an ambassador to the company (Lester, 2019).

Just like most of the companies, Deliva is keen on putting the interest of their clients first. Furthermore, the company is focused on upholding its values as well as professional ethics. The company has vowed to hold itself accountable by offering the best services available that will satisfy the demanding nature of its clients. Deliva Company is also committed to developing an ideal working environment through providing a sustainable and human working environment to the employees, partners, and clients. It is because the company is quite aware that a satisfied employee will tend to offer the best available services (Lin, C. (2018). Therefore, the company is committed to making employees and other partners as happy as possible by availing enabling working environment. Most importantly, Deliva Company has a profit-sharing arrangement for their management staff. The profit will be shared among the management staff for at least three years. However, the profit sharing will be performance-based. It means that the management staff that performs better will be awarded better pay (Lester, 2019).

An ICT Plan

Version History

The project manager performed the role of both distribution and development of the courier system that will help in the delivery within the territories of Sydney. The table below represents the number of the version, the name of the author that is implementing the version, the name of the individual that is performing the role of version approval, the date that the version was approved, the version date as well as the reason behind creating the new version.

Introduction

• The Purpose Of The Project Management Plan

The company is intending at attracting all the possible stakeholders that are associated with the PMP. The lists of such stakeholders include the project team, senior leadership of the company, and the sponsors of the project. Besides, the company is also striving at creating an ideal environment that would ensure a conducive and collaborative environment that would guarantee the success of the organization.

2. Project Charter Executive Summary

The main goal of our company is to become both the safest and fastest courier delivery in Sydney. The company intends to use an online portal as a means that customers would be able to access the services through their mobile phones or computers. After ordering, the bookings of the customers will be automatically channeled to the relevant transportation agencies such as a motor vehicle, van, bicycle, or even motorcycle. The courier on their part will receive the booking alerts through their mobile phones and other aspects such as routes with the help of the GPS.

• Assumptions/Constraints

One thing about aby project is that the project manager must assume an active role as far as the implementation project is concerned.  The main classical project constraint that is associated with nearly all the projects is provided below.

Time: it encompasses the period that the project will take including the deadline

Scope: scope is the expected outcome that is associated with the project. Therefore, the project management team should come up with an elaborated outcome that is expected from the project.

Cost: cost deals with the amount of money involved in financing the project. It means that the project management team should quantify the financial requirement of the project based on the available resources. The cost should include the cost of hiring new staff in case of the existing ones leaving their duties. Therefore, the cost should also cover the risk associated with all the aspects that can compromise the timely delivery of the service.

3. Scope Management

The primary objective of the project is to offer the most efficient crier management system. The system will have the functionality section that performs the calculations related to the courier bill. The system will also have a component that will be able to predict the timeframe that the courier will take before reaching the destination. Therefore, the system will be designed with the clients in mind. It means that the clients will have a new and effective system that where they can order and receive couriers safely and conveniently within the shortest time possible. Therefore, the new system will capitalize on the shortcomings of the existing system with the aim of eliminating the current faults associated with the old system. 

• Benefits Associated With The E-Courier Service

E-courier service is associated with numerous benefits that are lacking in the current system. Such benefits include timely delivery of the courier and efficiency in handling the courier. Besides, the new system is associated with time-saving in the process of both orderings and delivering of the courier. However, quantifying such benefits involves proper knowledge of the operations of courier services by both the conventional method as well as the new e-courier system. Therefore, below are more detailed discussions of the benefits associated with e-courier services.

Time-saving: when it comes to saving time, e-courier is beneficial to both the company and the user. The fact that the user can perform the transaction with the use of a smartphone at the comfort of his or her home or places of work saves time and energy. It means that the client must not travel to the company to access and enjoy the services of the company. Therefore, the client can use the saved time to perform other things that require their agent’s attention. On the side of the company, is also benefiting by saving time that could have been spent serving customers manually. The saved time could be used elsewhere to perform other demanding functions. Moreover, the overall benefit of the new system is eliminating delays that were associated with courier transiting from the company to the client.

Rate calculator: one of the components that are found in the new system is the rate calculator. In the new system, customers have the privilege of accessing different courier service providers with their prices. Therefore, the consumers can have the benefit of identifying the best courier with the best competitive price. Therefore, the clients will be accorded the privileges of enjoying value for their money. Moreover, the clients will have the advantage of selecting the best possible courier available in their area of residence in terms of price and service delivery.

Tracking of the packet: the ability of the customers to track their consignment is one of the features associated with the new system. The e-courier connects the company and the user where they can freely interact with one another. Besides, the incorporation of the GPS can be helpful in the tracking of the consignment. Therefore, the customers can easily check the progress of the ordered consignment and know the exact time and date when the consignment will arrive at the destination. Besides, the company will also be able to monitor the progress of the transportation of the consignment to ensure that it is delivered on time with minimum pilferages. Additionally, through the tracking aspect of the new system, the company will minimize losses associated with consignments either getting lost before reaching the expected destination.

Email inquiries: the new system is incorporated with an email section where clients can instantly deliver their inquiries regarding the service deliveries of the company. The clients can also use this platform to ask questions or even channel their complaints as far as the service delivery is concerned. Therefore, the company will enjoy having a platform where they can rate their performance as well as know the aspect of business where they are performing well and the aspects that they need to improve.

Pick-up request: pick up request is a component of the e-courier that allows clients to request the nearby branch to pick the courier from home. This service is ideal for clients that are either busy or incapacitated and cannot take their courier to the nearby branch of the company. Therefore, the company will be able to serve such clients safely and conveniently. One important fact to note is that it is one of a kind service that is lacking in the old system as well as most courier companies in Sydney. Therefore, it is projected that the company will surely benefit from this service by predisposing them above the competitors.

3.1. Work Breakdown Structure

• Development Plan

Implementation of the New Technology

One aspect regarding the implementation of the new technology is that it can be very challenging (Atkinson, Crawford, & Ward, 2006). Moreover, failure to perform the implementation of new technology can be detrimental to the overall success of the company. It is because it can perform the opposite of the intended objectives such as loss of productivity and constant delays. Furthermore, failure to conduct the implementation of the new technology can result in the overrun of the company’s budget leading to eventual losses of the company.

Team of Solution Delivery

Any new project is associated with potential hurdles that can compromise the success of the project. Therefore, it is of great importance that any company undertaking a change in system institute a competent and skilled solution delivery team that can help with technical itches associated with the implementation of the new technology (Cicmil, Williams, Thomas, & Hodgson, 2006). Moreover, the team of solution delivery should work in close association with the maintenance group where they provide manuals inform of documentations on several aspects related to project implementation. Besides, the team of solution delivery will also provide training services to the maintenance group on the new aspects associated with the new technology. Additionally, the team of solution delivery will just serve the role of transition where they will prepare the maintenance group on the technical aspects of e-courier. After successfully performing their role, the solution delivery team will hand over their functions to the maintenance group. However, they will report to the management office of the UITS, which will respond by incorporating the report into the IT inventory.

Team of Solution Maintenance

It entails the team of individuals that will oversee all the technical issues related to the operation of the e-courier. The team will take over from solution delivery team service that will provide the role of teaching the team of maintenance solution of the technical aspect of the new project. After taking over from the team of solution delivery, the team of solution maintenance will perform the following roles. The first role is reviewing all relevant solution documentation. The second role of the team is undertaking the preparation of the solution maintenance plan that will be used as a guideline for the future maintenance of the project. The third and the last role are supporting the solution team up to the end of the expiration of the term of the maintenance plan (Nyland, 2017).

Release Manager

Just like any other organized organization, the company will also have a release manager. The release manager will serve the noble role of approving and releasing the system to the production. Therefore, the release manager will have no option but to work with several sectors including a team of solution delivery as well as a team of solution maintenance to help in assessing and understanding the system. Understanding the system by the release manager is integral in releasing it to the production (Ives, 2005).  Consequently, the release manager is an important authority that will play a vital role in the overall success of the system.

Customer

Customers for any business organization are the most important stakeholder. They are like the bosses because without them it is pointless to venture into any business activity. Therefore, the company will do everything possible to satisfy the needs of the customer. Besides, the company will engage in all positive ventures to ensure that the loyalty of the customers remains the primary objective. Moreover, other stakeholders that will participate in the development plan include the end-user.

4. Schedule

• Project milestone

Project milestone is vital because it helps the implementation team to work together with the sole objective of realizing the set goals. The milestone also helps the implementation team to recognize the project goals and work towards them. Therefore, through milestone, the project team could come up implementation schedule that would be helpful in timely completion of the project (Nyland, 2017).

• Communications Management

Communication can be monitored during the project implementation progress using a table as indicated.

5. ICT Needs For A New System:

The following are some of the ICT essentials that will support the new system:

• Customers app; for the customers with the ability to use online portal.
• Courier app; for the individuals that can acquire orders and deliver them to the designated destinations.
• Website of the company; for showcasing the vital information of the company. It will also serve as a platform for channeling complaints and payments.
• Language programming; for backed, Java, Ruby on Rails, Python, and Node.js.
• Open Street Map API; for Android and iOS. The company will provide a platform-specific tool for Android such as Google Maps and Google Location Services API. However, for iOS devices, the company will provide frameworks such as CoreLocation and MapKit.
• Design
• Cost component
• Management and quality assurance
• Backend development
• Web development
• Native app development for both Android and iOS

6. Planning Phase

Seemingly, the project is quite demanding. Therefore, it will need a team of committed and qualified professionals to undertake the development of the above-specified frameworks as well as languages. Besides, the company will ensure that the system passes through the necessary stages for the sake of its effectiveness. Examples of stages that the system will pass include analysis, testing, together with implantation. It means that the company will require a team of qualified personnel that is specialized at every stage of system development. The cost of developing an app depends on the features involved. Therefore, the company will strive at using the available resources to create the best possible app with all the required features at an affordable cost as a way of reducing the project budget.

7. The Strategic Context Of The Project

Strategic planning is a form of the strategic context where leaders of an organization providing a framework where they plan and provide a vision that will drive the organization to a successful future (Narayanan & Defillippi, 2018). Besides, through strategic planning, organization leaders identify objectives and goals that will govern the operations of the organization. Furthermore, strategic planning should feature timelines that dictate the sequence of conducting the identified objectives and activities as a way of achieving the visions of the organization. Below is a list of the project’s strategic context and management (Grundy, 2017).

1. Informing the senior managers about the project management.
2. The partnering of the project.
3. Issuing of the project strategic management
4. Undertaking team management
5. Team of the board of directors
6. Senior management and project
7. Management of the stakeholders
8. Management of portfolio
9. International projects
10. The undertaking of the multiple project management

8. Problems And Risk Management

A simple definition of risk is any factor or situation that has the potential of affecting the business negatively. An example of risk in the business is a situation where the business property is stolen as a result of instituting poor security procedures (Gruiz, 2019). One aspect of risks is that each business has its related risks. Therefore, the key to overcome business risks is to understand aspects of the business environment that can potentially place the business at risk. It is worth noting that most of the aspects of businesses that are considered high risks are core business functions that are unavoidable. Therefore, a full understanding of business risks that are associated with core business functions is paramount to the proper management of business risks (Gruiz, 2019).

However, the management risks approach Identified should not be expensive for the business operations. Besides, it should be noted that business risks are dynamic and they keep on changing. Therefore, business leaders should also be flexible enough to adjust to the ever-changing business risks (Reilly, 2015). Therefore, business leaders should be knowledgeable about the relevant risk management strategies together with approaches of risk assessment and risk mitigation methods. Aspects of risk assessments include risk identification as well as risk evaluation methods. Therefore, the business needs to put in place a risk management plan that consists of processes and tools that will be used throughout the project in the management of risks (Gruiz, 2019).

9. Procurement Management

It involves all sorts of information that spans from assigning the computers to the relevant personnel and acquisition and testing of servers.

10. Compliance With The Related Planning

The section includes compliances that are associated with the projects.