Question 2

JPO is a retailer of fashion goods operating in a highly competitive Thai market l a c e. The Board of the company has given the go-ahead to redesign the company’s website to make it more convenient for customers to use.

The project is currently at week twelve ( 1 2 ) and there are problems with the functionality of the site and the fact that it is not easy to navigate. The Project Manager, Jack, has expressed concern about the rising costs of the project and the time needed to improve the functionality. He estimates that the change to the functionality will delay the project by three weeks. Jack understands that improved customer satisfaction (by making the website easy to use) is important. There will also be diminishing returns since the increased levels of customer satisfaction obtained by the change in functionality will be offset by the increased time and cost spent.

The Board has had feedback from the project team members who have complained that there has been a lack of visibility of the project manager. Team members have said that they were unaware of any deadlines as they had not been shown any plan or schedule of work and this had made it difficult to prioritize tasks and understand how they can contribute to the project.

The Board of JPO has called an emergency meeting with the Project Manager in order to come up with some immediate solutions which address the project slippage. It has been recommended that Jack also needs guidance on how to improve his management of project teams before he leads any future projects.

You are required to write a minimum of 1200 words and answer parts (a) & (b).

(a) Analyze the strategies available to JPO to address the issue of time, cost, and quality in the website project.
(b) In your own words explain to Jack the factors he should consider to ensure the project teams he manages in the future are effective.