SLeahy - Unit 5 Assignment - IT599-01

Running head: BYOD PROJECT CLOSURE REPORT 1

BYOD Project Closure Report

Steven Leahy

Kaplan University

IT599-01: Applied IT Master Project

Unit Five Assignment: Final Project Closure Report Preparation and Submission

BYOD PROJECT CLOSURE REPORT 2

ContentsBYOD Project Closure Report......................................................................................................................3

Abstract...................................................................................................................................................3

Preparation and Control..............................................................................................................................4

Purpose.......................................................................................................................................................4

Goals of the Report.....................................................................................................................................4

Report Summary..........................................................................................................................................5

Background Overview..............................................................................................................................5

Highlights and Best Practices...................................................................................................................6

Performance Metrics...............................................................................................................................6

Success Criteria Performance..................................................................................................................7

Milestones and Deliverables Performance..............................................................................................7

Budget Performance................................................................................................................................8

Metrics Performance Recommendations................................................................................................8

Closure Tasks...............................................................................................................................................9

Issue Management......................................................................................................................................9

Risk Management........................................................................................................................................9

Quality Management.................................................................................................................................10

Communication Management...................................................................................................................10

Customer Expectation Management.........................................................................................................11

Asset Management....................................................................................................................................11

Lesson Learned..........................................................................................................................................11

Post-Project Tasks..................................................................................................................................12

Closure Recommendations....................................................................................................................12

Project Closure Report Approval...............................................................................................................13

Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................14

References.................................................................................................................................................15


BYOD Project Closure Report

Abstract

The project manager, Ben Johnson, has brought the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) project to

a close and she is collecting all pertinent information to include in the final report. This report

was painstakingly composed to reflect the outstanding job the team performed to deliver a

successful project. From the beginning of the project to its end, Ben had to ensure that all

stakeholders understood the purpose for the upgrade and changes made during the process.

Correcting a coding error within the HP BYOD Essential Smart Solution Management software,

which pushed the completion date back by a month, was not as costly as thought. The total cost

of the project did not balloon beyond the approved budget of $250,000 at $236,328.37.


Preparation and Control

Ben Johnson prepared this report manages projects for Warbird Consulting Partners,

LLC. The first testing of the BYOD project was conducted by Don Williams on October 9,

2014, in which the coding of the HP BYOD Essential Smart Solution Management software

failed. After repeating the analysis, design, and development processes with assistance from

Hewlett Packard, the software’s coding passed on October 20, 2014. Shannon Roper– Project

Integration Manager and Business Analyst, Ellen Ducette – Systems Architect, Carmell Verdell

– Systems Analyst, and Susan Kim – Database Specialist were responsible for the error

correction, along with Ben Johnson.

Purpose

Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s BYOD project’s closing phase is to sanction the

successful deliverables to the stakeholders of the company. Closing consists of dual sections.

First, the project team has to complete every task to ensure all documentations are corresponding

to all finished tasks. The second part of closure is to wrap up all necessary meetings, team

members submit their reports to Ben Johnson, and she has to review all documents before

writing the final report for review and approval. Michael Draa – CEO, and Executive sponsor

and the Executive Committee, consisting of Chris Bitler – Vice President of Operations and

committee member and Doug Fenstermaker – Chief Information Officer (CIO) and committee

member will sign the document.


Goals of the Report

Within this report, the project manager has defined the accomplished tasks that lead to

successful completion of all activities. Also, issues and constraints of the project were identified,

with the recommendations that provided the eradication of previous errors. The best practices

for keeping the new system capable to maintain an upgrade-ready status is highlighted

throughout this report. Finally, all activities were reviewed and authorized.

Report Summary

Background Overview

Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s management needed a better system and network to

assist with increased profit margins and market shares. The company’s competitors are showing

significant gains and Michael Draa has become concerned that his company will fall far behind.

He had a preliminary investigation performed to find the main reason his company is falling

behind his competitors. When the deficient area of his business was exposed, Michael

commissioned a team to bring his company back into contention for market shares.

The lack of advanced technology has cost Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC its former

position within its market. With the need for key personnel to effectively work wirelessly

offsite, the team has to upgrade the current system and network for wireless functionality. Ben

Johnson – Project Manager, quickly constructed a methodology to comport a workshop that will

provide a less costly system and for selected personnel to use their own devices. Discussions

lead to a plan on how to approach upgrading the company’s legacy system. Ben had to ensure

that the planning, implementation, and closure of this new project was not going to hinder


operations, take too much time for completion, and cost more than executive management will

support.

Expectations from team members were that strategies developed during the kickoff

meeting will provide a sound methodology for delivering a successful project and provide

additional security to protect sensitive information. The team knew that working with

representatives from Hewlett Packard to implement the BYOD application was a great

possibility. The project manager will provide a Charter and record the kickoff meeting for all

stakeholders to witness. Strategies are transparent, as evident via the Charter that was drafted

and accepted by the executive management.

Highlights and Best Practices

Highlights:

Meeting with representatives from Hewlett Packard

Wide area network (WAN) applications implementation via HP Enterprise

Mobility Management and HP’s ProCurve MSM760 Controller and HP’s M111

Client Bridge with wireless access points.

Focus on strategies to prevent intrusion and/or inside attacks

Best Practices:

Remain compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

(HIPAA) and Gramm-Leach-Bailey Act (GLBA) and other applicable laws and

regulations

Michael Draa’s endorsement for upgrading and maintaining his legacy system and

network, with added security features

Closure Synopsis:


The project closed, because all tasks and activities were finished and management

signed the closing report

Performance Metrics

Goals and Objectives:

Improved system and network efficiency

Greater market shares

Partnership collaboration to develop the appropriate technological specifications

for Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s upgraded system and network

Increased profit margins by at least 35% over the first year after system upgrade

Success Criteria Performance

All criteria were achieved, although an unexpected issue occurred during the analysis,

design, and development step of the Execution Phase of the project. After re-evaluating the

situation at the expense of an additional month, the promise of successful deliverables to the

stakeholders is fulfilled. The project manager will report that no criteria was overlooked or

neglected and that the minor completion delay will not hinder Warbird Consulting Partners,

LLC’s progress. Doug Fenstermaker – Chief Information Officer (CIO) has the responsibility

for measuring continued progress of the system and network.

Milestones and Deliverables Performance

Charter

Scope

Budget (approved: $250,000 – actual: $236,328.37)


Appropriate hardware and software (HP ProCurve MSM760 Controller Access Switch

and HP M111 Client Bridge & HP BYOD Essential Smart Solution Management

Software)

Planning

Execution

Completion of training and documentation

Budget Performance

Project manager.....................................................................................$150,000/yr

Systems architect...................................................................................$95/hr

Systems analyst......................................................................................$85/hr

Database specialist.................................................................................$80/hr

Business analyst.....................................................................................$75/hr

Tester......................................................................................................$60/hr

HP ProCurve MSM760 Controller........................................................$5,739.95

HP M111 Client Bridge………….........................................................$1,095.00

HP BYOD Essential Smart Solution…………………………….........$13,000.00

The work breakdown structure (WBS) provides an estimate of $236,328.37 for the entire project

over seven months.

Metrics Performance Recommendations

Risk:

Security for sensitive information, switches, databases, and access points is

always an issue


Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s Global Positioning System (GPS) lacks the

accurate degree of safety within unsafe locations

Action:

Implementation of the HP ProCurve MSM760 Controller Access Switch and HP

M111 Client Bridge with Wireless Access Points will aid in reducing

vulnerabilities via system hardening (i.e., media access control (MAC) address

filtering and Structured Query Language (SQL) injection prevention)

Maintain coding updates to the new system and network

Closure Tasks

The CIO must keep personnel knowledgeable about the new system and network and

updates through periodic training. Meetings between all department heads are planned to guide

further system and network development. An acceptable use policy (AUP) will reinforce the

consequences for personnel violation of any federal, state, local, and/or international laws and

regulations. Doug Fenstermaker, the CIO, must approve all exceptions to this policy.

Issue Management

The CIO is responsible for handling all issues pertaining to IT related matters. The

coding errors with the HP BYOD Essential Smart Solution Management software were complex,

because the legacy system was not wireless and had to be upgraded. HP is contracted for support

of their products, with representatives available around the clock. Cooperation between Warbird

Consulting Partners, LLC and its partners keep the company’s system and network performing at

top efficiency.


Risk Management

Managing risk is vital for a successful BYOD project implementation. Keeping all

business necessities simple reduces complications for the project team. Difficult issues will be

handled by the Steering Committee and unsolvable issues are dealt with by the Executive

Committee. The greatest risk is the possible loss of support from the Executive Sponsor,

Michael Draa, CEO of Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC.

Any upgrade or implementation may produce vulnerabilities within a network and/or

system. To prevent loss of sensitive information or attacks, CIOs harden their systems and

networks via physical and virtual security. Port security is often overlooked, because the

attention is mainly concentrated on the databases within computers. The appropriate switch may

prevent most incidents by permitting authorized media access control (MAC) addresses to send

and receive data (Oritano & Gregg, 2011). Information is too valuable to allow attackers (i.e.,

hackers and criminal hackers (crackers)) to alter and disrupt communications on networks.

Quality Management

The CEO, Michael Draa, must keep this and all operations within Warbird Consulting

Partners, LLC funded. Success within the company’s market depends upon full support from all

stakeholders. Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC is provided with milestone health checks and

audits of the decision process. Quality assurance is divided into the following aspects:

Internal – Management and the team review the Project Charter and blueprint of the business

design, documentation is continually reviewed, and training and testing is handled by the team.

External – Risk assessments and Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s readiness are appraised

and the partner, Hewlett Packard, perform quality assurance evaluations at certain milestones.


Communication Management

The project team remains in communication through the use of regular meetings and by

collaborating on different phases of the project. Setbacks are discussed and remedies are

consequential from these discussions to put the project back on track and maintain compliance.

Consideration for all stakeholders is the main focus during and outside meetings and discussions.

Team members are using the dynamic systems development method (DSDM) to highlight key

roles of people within the process, which is called the “user centered” approach (Avison &

Torkzadeh, 2009). Small issues may become threats to the project’s completion, if face-to-face

communication is not utilized. This is why the project manager must ensure that all members of

the team remain in close communication with each other.

Customer Expectation Management

The improvement of services to Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC’s customers is vital to

management. Feedback from customers will help identify areas of operations that are potentially

detrimental to the company. If customers’ needs are not met, action has to be taken to correct

this issue and a decision made to properly implement the change. Executive management knows

better than others that being customer focused provides greater customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Asset Management

The upgraded system and network is a treasure to Warbird Consulting Partners, LLC and

will usher in long-term operational success. The new hardware and software are tools that are

the prelude for greater events to happen for this company. Portable devices utilized by selected

personnel for business purposes, will be continually monitored. Collected information provides

IT personnel if the system or network is fallible or firm.


Lesson Learned

Through planning, Ben Johnson learned that upgrading a legacy system and network is a

detailed and daunting task. This became evident when coding errors stalled the completion of

the BYOD project. With direct communication with the company’s executives from bi-monthly

to monthly meetings, she is able to understand what they want and figure out how to provide it

through project tasks. A big problem may appear through team mismanagement. The

development stage offers a view of any holes within the BYOD project. This project provides

social values to influence a homogenous atmosphere within an unfriendly environment.

Post-Project Tasks

Don Williams, the project’s tester, has the greatest task of ensuring the project manager

that the project is secure and ready for company-wide implementation. The training schedule

must be posted or personnel notified via letter or in person. A comprehensive plan has to be

written for future identification of system improvements or functionality augmentations. Ben

Johnson will complete the documentation of the system and network during testing and

implementation of the BYOD application.

Closure Recommendations

The BYOD application is being implemented for the first time and signifies Warbird

Consulting Partners, LLC’s readiness to challenge its competitors. As project manager, Ben

Johnson should recommend that training for personnel selected to use this application be

required every six months. The company’s CEO, Michael Draa, must continue his support for

the upgraded system and network. If he fails to retain interest, the company will become

defunct.


Project Closure Report Approval

_________________________________________________________Michael Draa, Executive Sponsor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

_________________________________________________________Chris Bitler, Executive Committee & Vice President of Operations

_________________________________________________________Peggy Berry, Executive Committee & Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

_________________________________________________________Doug Fenstermaker, Project Director & Chief Information Officer (CIO)


Conclusion

The BYOD project is a necessity, in which a technological boost is given Warbird

Consulting Partners, LLC to compete with its closest competitors. From the beginning of this

project, the team had to be very careful with security matters. A minor setback occurred during

the Execution Phase of the project, in which coding errors with the HP BYOD Essential Smart

Solution Management software were apparent. The legacy system and network was more

outdated than originally assumed to be, causing a delay for almost month toward the project’s

completion. The company will enjoy a return of investment (ROI) of approximately 35% for the

first year after the new system and network is fully implemented. Ultimately, Warbird

Consulting Partners is provided with a competitive edge.


References

Avison, D., & Torkzadeh, G. (2009). Information systems project management. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage

Oriyano, S. P., & Gregg, M. (2011). Hacker techniques, tools, and incident handling.

Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Documents

SLeahy - Unit 5 Assignment - IT599-01