Scope Creep Report for Computer Security Department

Question: Discuss about theScope Creep Report for Computer Security Department. Answer: Introduction: The purpose of this report is to evaluate the project status of the Computer Security Department (CSD) of the Federal Government to improve and replace the outdated computer for management of public clients. A brief regarding the current status of the project has been present for the assessment of the situation. Then the assessment and the management practices have been analyzed together for a better understanding of the project, and further recommendations were provided for fast project completion. Report on Current Project Status Current project status: Incomplete. A budget of $2.3 Million was prepared for the project, but a sum of $1.5 million was granted. The project was planned accordingly, and resources were planned. Due to event mismanagement, the department has suffered an unexpected delay and cost. Now an additional grant request of $1.8 million has been placed for the completion of the project. There exist no official records containing the scope of the project, schedule, the implemented aspects of the project and the money spent on various aspects. The objective of the CSD was to replace the outdated computer systems for managing the public clients. The project was scoped and planned to achieve specific goals. It was decided that the hardware and the software for the computer systems will be updated and replaced across 87 sites, and the completion date was decided to be 30th, June 2001. The initial committee in its initial meetings had loosely identified some of the risks that could cripple the process and was recorded in a project report that is nowhere to be found, the project steering committee was formed to guide the project in a proper direction under the department chief (CEO) as the main sponsor for the post. The representations of the influential company managers with different mindsets have not suited the environment. Hence, no record or actual reports was found containing the actual scope, schedule, and budget [7]. Comparison of the Present Scenario with Project Management Practices The work upon the project started in July 1999 but as of today, the project is far from completion. According to previous study, a project needs a clear scope, should have structured contracts and budgets, sound and clear communication between the hierarchies and should stick to the Gantt chart which will result in timely completion of the project [5]. For successful completion of the project, it is necessary that everyone shares a specific goal and work for its completion. However, it is evident from the facts that in the case of CSD the management was weak [2]. Although there was an agreement between CSD and Good Systems there exists no contract which contains clear goals. Also, the Good Systems promised to provide free services in return of research and development center, but Good System failed to provide the basic services which should have been its priority. The CSD is facing the brunt of unexpected expenditure because the employees of the organization were diverted for testing the new software that was to be installed by Good Systems, additionally the managers who became more comfortable and met less frequently for steering the project to the right direction, left Good Systems with the management works [11]. In a proper system, there should be well laid out the hierarchy and clear roles for each in an organization but to save money, too much pressure was laid upon the cashier which resulted in such mismanagement [9]. Communication plays a pivotal role in project management. In the case of this project, the stakeholders frequently met to decide the various aspect of the project. This ensured well proper communications between the stakeholders of the company, contractors, vendors, etc. A manager acts as the link joining the various aspects of the project, but the absence of such vital link created a void and resulted in such failure. There was no timeline, or Gantt chart and absence of such important toolkit is Mars any resolution. The initial objective of the project was to be completed within a budget of $ 1.5 million, but the lack of standard practices has left CSD being demanded $1.8 million more. Sound management requires well laid out plans and justifications for approval of extra funds. Hence the following sections will deal with the justifications for the same. For completion of the project in time, the components should be meticulously planned and scheduled [3]. As stated before Gantt chart helps in planning out the timeline and the priorities of the tasks. This also helps in allocation of resources according to the need of the time. Recommendation on Project Closure and Future Improvements The CSD (Computer Security Department) should understand the need of a manager and should make it mandatory to appoint a manager for its entire work. The work of manager should not be taken lightly as he behaves as the interface between the stakeholders of the company [1]. The increase in the offices of the project manager shows the importance of the dedicated workforce that is needed to complete a project. The manager mainly serves two major needs, providing the common set of tools and framework for making the project successful [12]. He is also responsible for the completion of the projects within a given time that has been decided in the Gantt chart. Hence the manager takes all the responsibility of making the project a success. The five broadly classified ideas for avoiding the scope creep are: Understanding the goals/results [6] Understanding the clients idea Understanding the scope of the project Understanding the budget [8] Keeping everything in the book So, the following steps had been designed by the above factors to prevent scope creep and will help in project closure. Conclusion It is very critical to understand the need of the project, and steps should be taken to contain the contingencies. Although contingencies are difficult to predict the other similar projects can serve as a guideline for understanding the issues. Also, the need of the components of management should not be underestimated as it prevents proper process management. A clear idea about the various aspects of the project like time and money should always be borne in mind for the successful completion of the project. References Brennan M. Mismanagement and quality circles: how middle managers influence direct participation. Management Decision. 2013 Mar 7. Breuer J, Ranaivoson H, Buchinger U, Ballon P. Who manages the manager? Identity management and user ownership in the age of data. InPrivacy, Security and Trust (PST), 2015 13th Annual Conference on 2015 Jul 21 (pp. 22-27). IEEE. Burke R. Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA. 2013. Gerald J, Lechler T. Gantt charts revisited: A critical analysis of its roots and implications to the management of projects today. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 2012 Sep 7;5(4):578-94. Kerzner HR. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons; 2013 Feb 4. Madhuri KL, Rao JJ, Murthy SV. Scope creep implications on customer satisfaction index in the software industry. International Journal of Productivity and Quality Management. 2016;19(1):21-37. Martin R. Leaders and the importance of the manager-staff relationship. Pepperdine University; 2013. Moore AY, Thomas MR, Diggdon A, Maher J, Moore KL, Lee YW, McMahon BP, inventors; Wells Fargo Bank, NA, assignee. Budget management system and method. United States Patent US 8,639,622. 2014 Jan 28. Neves P, Eisenberger R. Management communication, and employee performance: The contribution of perceived organizational support. Human Performance. 2012 Nov 1;25(5):452-64. Sara S, Tatnall A. Failure to Launch: Scope Creep and Other Causes of Failure from an Actor-Network Theory Perspective. International Journal of Actor-Network Theory and Technological Innovation (IJANTTI). 2015 Oct 1;7(4):1-3. Silva P, Moreno AM, Peters L. Software Project Management: Learning from Our Mistakes. IEEE Software. 2015 May 1;32(3). Westcott RT, editor. The certified manager of quality/organizational excellence handbook. ASQ Quality Press; 2013 Oct 7.