Assignment B - Project Plan

(Scope, WBS, MS Project, Risk Management Plan)

ISDS 4113 – Spring 2013
(45 points)

*** Note: This assignment must be done individually. Your grade on the assignment
will depend upon the quality and completeness of your project plan.

For this assignment, you will complete a project plan that includes: 1) a Project Scope
Statement and project priorities, 2) a project plan in MS Project that shows the WBS,
project schedule and estimated costs for all resources required for the project, and 3) a
Risk Management Plan (Risk Assessment Matrix and Risk Response Matrix).

There are two options for the project you will plan:

 Option #1: A real project that you are currently involved in (as part of your
work, coursework, for an organization you are involved in, personal
goals/projects (e.g., preparing for a marathon, getting married), etc.)

Note: For Option #1, the project must be approved by the professor. See me
after class or send me a short e-mail describing the project you are proposing.

 Option #2: A service-learning project to be done as a part of an LSU course in

the Fall 2013 semester.

Service learning is hands-on learning integrated into a course that involves

working with community partners to benefit the common good (e.g., designing a
playground, assisting with income tax return preparation). Students fulfill the
learning goals of their academic courses by getting hands-on experience while
serving the community. For more information on service learning at LSU, see the
website for CCELL (Center for Community Engagement, Learning and
Leadership) at www.ccell.lsu.edu and examples of courses involving service
learning https://ccelldb.lsu.edu/listclasses.

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 *** OPTION #1: Project you are/will be involved in ***

Step 1: Determine the project you will plan for this assignment

This must be a real project – one that you are currently involved in or will be involved in
in the near future. It should be a moderate-sized project, with 30 (minimum) – 50
(maximum) tasks/deliverables in the WBS. Alternatively, you may plan one phase of a
larger project.

Step 2: Get approval to use this project for the assignment

The professor must approve the project. Talk to me after class or send me a short e-mail
describing the project you propose.

Step 3: Create a Project Scope Statement (1-page; standard format as shown in the
class slides). Ensure that the project scope is specific and clear, with enough detail so
that it is clear exactly what will be delivered. Determine your Project Priorities.

Step 4: Determine the Work Breakdown Structure – Develop a WBS for your project
to be entered in MS Project. Include all tasks needed to complete the project (or a
specific phase of the project for larger projects). Include a minimum of 30 tasks; more if
needed.

Note: Do not ‘pad’ the WBS with repetitive tasks to get to the required number (e.g.,
read book 1, read book 2, read book 3, etc.).

Step 5: Create a project plan in MS Project .

 Enter all activities from your WBS, using the ident arrows in the MS Project toolbar
to organize your tasks in outline style.
 Examine each of your tasks and identify any predecessor tasks.
 Create the resource pool. In the resource sheet enter all resources required for the
project and estimates costs for those resources.
 Enter the estimated number of days to complete each task, and enter the appropriate
resource(s).
 Check to see whether your resources are overallocated. If so, try to level your
resources using positive slack. If this will not solve the overallocation problem, you
can level outside of slack or add additional resources if your budget allows.

Note: I will expect you to use the “Auto Schedule” Task Mode in MS Project for the
majority of your tasks. This gives you to the most flexibility and optimal schedule
completion date. For your project, however, there may be some tasks that must be done
on a particular date or range of dates. In that case, use the “Manually Schedule” Task
Mode for that task.

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Step 6: Create a Risk Management Plan for your project.

 Identify 5 major risks for your project

 Complete a Risk Assessment Matrix and a Risk Response Matrix that include those 5
risks (use the matrix formats shown in the slides).

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*** OPTION #2: Service-Learning Project ***

Step 1: Plan a service-learning project to be done as part of an LSU course in the

Fall 2013 semester.

Service learning is hands-on learning integrated into a course that involves working with
community partners to benefit the common good. Students fulfill the learning goals of
their academic courses by getting hands-on experience while serving the community. For
more information on service learning at LSU, see the website for CCELL (Center for
Community Engagement, Learning and Leadership) at www.ccell.lsu.edu and examples
of courses involving service learning https://ccelldb.lsu.edu/listclasses. You will need
to identify:

A. The specific LSU course that will include the service learning project. This does
not need to be on the CCELL list of current service-learning courses. However, it
should be a course that you are familiar with – one that you are currently taking or
have taken in the past. Think creatively about how the skills and knowledge in
the class could benefit others outside of the university.
B. The community organization that you will work with on the project
C. The project to be done
D. How the project will benefit the common good
E. The learning objectives that the project will support (i.e., what will students learn
through their participation in the project, beyond gaining experience?)

Your project should be feasible given the typical number of students enrolled in this
particular course. The learning objectives need to be in alignment with the subject of the
class and the knowledge/expertise of the students. Work on the project can begin
anytime after the beginning of the semester (August 26, 2013). The project must be
completed by the time that classes end (December 6, 2013) (time-constrained project).
You must determine the resources/budget for all expenses needed to complete your
project. Assume that the community organization will provide the funding or solicit
donated materials, but their resources are limited (cost-enhance).

Assume that you are the project leader for this project.

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Step 2: Create a Project Scope Statement (1-page; standard format as shown in the
class slides). Assume that the customer for the project is the community
organization. Ensure that the project scope is specific and clear, with enough detail
soso that the customer knows exactly what will be delivered. Determine your Project
Priorities.

Step 3: Determine the Work Breakdown Structure – Develop a WBS for your project
to be entered in MS Project. Include all tasks needed to complete the project (or a
specific phase of the project for larger projects). Include a minimum of 30 tasks; more if
needed.

Note: Do not ‘pad’ the WBS with repetitive tasks to get to the required number (e.g.,
read book1, read book 2, read book 3, etc.).

 Enter the estimated number of days to complete each task, and enter the appropriate
resource(s).
 Check to see whether your resources are overallocated. If so, try to level your
resources using positive slack. If this will not solve the overallocation problem, you
can level outside of slack or add additional resources if your budget allows.

Note: I will expect you to use the “Auto Schedule” Task Mode in MS Project for the
majority of your tasks. This gives you to the most flexibility and optimal schedule
completion date. For your project, however, there may be some tasks that must be done
on a particular date or range of dates. In that case, use the “Manually Schedule” Task
Mode for that task.

Step 4: Create a project plan in MS Project .

 Enter all activities from your WBS, using the ident arrows in the MS Project toolbar
to organize your tasks in outline style.
 Examine each of your tasks and identify any predecessor tasks.
 Create the resource pool. In the resource sheet, enter yourself as one of the resources
(in the role of project leader), roles to be assigned to students in the course, roles to be
assigned to members of the community organization, etc. For some projects, you
may need to hire additional people with special skills. The pay rate for you, other
students and community organization members will be $0; assign an appropriate pay
rate for any people you need to hire.
 Enter information about other resources needed (e.g., software supplies, equipment,
etc.).
 Enter the estimated number of days to complete each task, and enter the appropriate
resource(s).
 Check to see whether your resources are overallocated. If so, try to level your
resources using positive slack. If this will not solve the overallocation problem, you
must add additional resources to the project or reduce the scope (since this project is
time constrained and must be completed by 12/6/13).

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Step 5: Create a Risk Management Plan for your project.

 Identify 5 major risks for your project

 Complete a Risk Assessment Matrix and a Risk Response Matrix that include those 5
risks (use the matrix formats shown in the slides).

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To turn in for the assignment (Option 1 or Option 2):

1. A Word document with:

a. Description of your project (short paragraph for Option1; questions A-E listed
on the previous page for Option 2)
b. Project Scope Statement
c. Project Priorities (use the project priorities matrix format)
d. Risk Assessment Matrix
e. Risk Response Matrix

2. Your MS Project file

Everything must be turned in via Moodle.

Additional Requirement for ISDS Majors (also a good idea for other majors, but
not required):

 Add your assignment deliverables to your ISDS portfolio (created in ISDS 3100)
using weebly. Include a brief project description and post pdf’s of the following
(NOT the Word or MS Project files):
o Project Scope Statement
o WBS and Resource Sheet from MS Project
o Risk Assessment Matrix
o Risk Response Matrix

 Include the link to your portfolio in the Word document with the Project Scope
Statement that you turn in for the assignment

The link to the weebly website and instruction sheet are posted in Moodle.