Staffing and Communications Management Plan

 

Using a provided template and a word-processing application, develop a staffing management plan and a communications management plan for a given scenario or a real-world project of your choice. Use the PMBOK Guide as the model for this assessment.

Introduction

This portfolio work project, a staffing and communications management plan, is based on your selected business or IT project. You will base your assessment on the Cosmo, Inc. case study By definition, communication management “describes how, when and by whom information about the project will be administered and disseminated” (Project Management Institute, 2017, p. 569).

When dealing with human resource management in projects, we are attending to the methods that assist in organizing and managing project team members. Team members involved are aligned to roles and responsibilities that ensure the venture is successful. It is important that team members are also involved in various parts of the project, such as planning and decision making.

Challenges can occur when dealing with project team members, especially when a key player quits or is moved to another project. In this situation, the project manager needs to make sure that there is a backup team member who can take over the tasks quickly. This is to ensure that the triple constraints (time, cost, and scope) are not affected enough to negatively influence the outcome of the project.

The staffing management plan must address the areas that need to be included and how they should be implemented to ensure the project is successful. The management plan links individual success to team success, and thus, to project success.

This document is a planning tool used to define, develop, monitor, and control the project requirements. The scope management plan is an important planning document because effective scope management is necessary for project success.

Reference

Project Management Institute. Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) — Sixth Edition and Agile Practice Guide. Newtown Square. PA. 2017.

Scenario

For this assessment review Cosmo INC

• Cosmo INC: Based on the analysis completed by a task force at Cosmo, Inc., the marketing department must develop, implement, and test a new marketing campaign focused on maintaining current customer levels and increasing their customer base through the utilization of new technology. Refer to the Cosmo, Inc. Case Study [DOC] document for more information.

Your Role

You are the project manager.

PM50

1

8 Business Case

PM5018 Business Case

Cosmo, Inc.

Cosmo, Inc. is a leader in the development and distribution of wearable technology, including fitness coaching, nutritional coaching, and lifestyle advising products. The company holds a 33-percent market share in the wearable technology category. After doing marketing analysis, senior leadership realizes the onset of competition could negatively impact future earnings.

CEO and President Harold Living tells his leadership Cosmo, Inc. needs a new marketing strategy to not only increase market share but to maintain current levels. Based on data analytics, Cosmo decides to incorporate technology trends into the company’s strategic marketing, including:

· Internet of Things (IoT).

· Digital services.

· Data analytics.

· The mobile technology movement.

Living selects a task force to review Cosmo, Inc. and their competitors’ data analytic reports to recommend a new strategy.

Customer Demographics

Demographics include but are not limited to:

· Ages

2

5–50.

· College educated.

· Annual income greater than $75,000.

· Residents in cities with population greater than 500,000.

· Technology savvy.

· Utilize mobile technology at work and home.

· Utilize Cloud technology at work and home.

Marketing Campaign Strategy Objectives

The campaign’s goals are as follows:

· Develop a marketing campaign strategy to increase production of wearable technology by 25 percent.

· Increase customer base by 20 percent by identifying unknown customer segmentations based on age, demographics, income, education, and technology.

· Utilize current technologies, including social media and data analytics, for predictive analytics to identify known and unknown customer segments.

· Become a leading competitor in wearable technologies.

· Become a leading competitor using trending technologies, including IoT, mobile technology, and artificial intelligence applications.

· Integrate technology into current ERP and Marketing systems to create an improved digital business of the future and to deliver and support products to improve the customer experience and “mesh” embedded services of people, devices, and content.

· Develop and implement a new process within the Customer Service department to establish new-product support services.

· Meet current and future neutrality regulations.

Project Specifics

Details about the project include but are not limited to:

· Timeframe: 10 weeks.

· Budget: $150,000.

· Campaign length: 6 months.

· Measurement: Performance reports to be developed in order to monitor the increase in customers and customer satisfaction rates.

· Departments involved:

· Marketing.

· Finance.

· Information Technology.

· Customer Service.

1
2

Requirements

Microsoft Project is the recommended software tool for this course due to its wide industry acceptance and its use in many project management professional roles. If you have not already done so, follow the instructions provided through the links below to download and install software or register for an account, as required.

1. If you have a Capella MS Imagine account, go to Step 2. Otherwise, see the instructions for registering an account at 

MS Imagine� – Registration

.

2. Log into the 

Capella Microsoft Imagine WebStore

.

3. Identify the version of MS Project that is compatible with your operating system.

4. Download and install.

If you encounter any difficulties in the download and installation process, post a detailed question in the Ask Your Faculty Discussion in the menu dropdown when you click the image of your faculty. They should be able to help you or point you in the right direction for the answers you need.

Using Project in this course helps prepare you for future professional PM roles and responsibilities. Please use Project for tasks the software supports. If you have access to other tools such as Microsoft Visio, PowerPoint, and Word, or other project management software you believe may still meet the requirements of this course, please discuss your selected alternative with faculty.

Use the PMBOK® Guide as the model for developing the deliverables.

Part 1: Staffing Management Plan

The staffing management plan document should contain the following components (at minimum):

· Describe staff acquisition needs and process.

· Explain training needs.

· Detail recognition and rewards.

· Create an organizational chart.

· Identify and analyze stakeholders to include their level of engagement and interest in the project.

· Develop a timetable.

· Describe release criteria.

· Explain the safety component.

Part 2: Communications Management Plan

· Develop a communications management plan to be distributed to the stakeholders of the project.

· You may choose to use the 

Communications Plan [DOC]

 template or devise your own document to complete this assessment.

· The document should be succinct and contain the following components (at minimum):

. Provide project specific information including project name, sponsor name and project manager.

. Provide a narrative introduction describing the objectives, stakeholders, and topics related to project communications.

. Complete the Communication matrix.

Preparation

Use the software of your choice to develop the deliverables for this assessment.

This assessment has two parts and two deliverables:

1. Part A: Develop a staffing management plan document using your choice of word-processing applications, including Microsoft Word.

2. Part B: Using the Communications Plan [DOC] template or a document you make yourself, include the following in your project communication management plan.

Deliverable Format

· References: There is no set number of references required for this assessment. Use scholarly or academic sources where applicable.

· Format:

. Use the provided Communications Plan [DOC] template or another format as appropriate.

. Use your choice of Microsoft Word, Visio, or PowerPoint to develop the Staffing Management Plan, including the organizational chart.

. The Communications Plan and Staffing Management Plan are professional documents and must follow the corresponding 

Academic and Professional Document Guidelines

, including single-spaced paragraphs.

. Use APA style and format for references and in-text citations.

· Length: Utilize the template, including the title page and reference page.

Evaluation

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria:

· Competency 2: Lead and manage teams, users, stakeholders, and sponsors.

. Describe staff acquisition requirements, process, training needs, and recognition and rewards.

. Create an organizational chart to identify and analyze stakeholders (their level of engagement and interest in the project).

. Develop a timetable for the project.

. Describe release criteria.

. Explain the safety component.

· Competency 3: Communicate with project stakeholders and sponsors.

. Describe the communication form and frequency requirements and expectations.

. Describe communication responsibilities of team members.

. Explain the purpose and rationale of the communications management plan.

Faculty will use the scoring guide to review your deliverable as if they were your immediate supervisor. Review the scoring guide prior to developing and submitting your assessment.

ePortfolio

This portfolio work project demonstrates your competency in applying knowledge and skills required of a learner in the workplace. Include this in your personal ePortfolio.