Term  Project      

Install  Screen  in  MBTA                          

Instructor:  Professor  Klosterman                                                            Student:  Shuyu  Zhang  

                 

Table  of  context    1.  Letter  of  Transmittal    

2.  Project  Objectives    

3.  Critical  Success  Factors    

4.  Assumptions    

5.Project  Organization    

6.  Implementation  Plan    

       6.1.  Task  List  

       6.2.  Work  Breakdown  Structure    

       6.3.  Responsibility  Chart  

       6.4.  Scheduling    

             6.4.1.    Gantt  Chart    

             6.4.2.    PERT  Analysis    

       6.5.  Resource  Allocation    

7.  Financial  Plan    

8.  Monitoring  and  Control    

9.  Risk  Assessment    

10.  Summary    

11.  Appendices    

   

     

1.LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL  November  26,  2014  

Dear  Professor  Klosterman:  Project  Name:  Install  Screen  in  MBTA    The  objective  of  my  project  is  to  install  latest  mobile  digital  terminals  in  platforms  of  MBTA  subway.  The  specific  objectives  is  that  MBTA  will  purchase  a  good  supply  of  LED  screen  with  network  connected  as  mobile  digital  terminals  and  install  them  on  the  platform  walls  which  people  could  watch  video  or  TV  show  in  the  subway.  By  the  end  of  year,  all  MBTA  subway  will  cover  the  devices  and  investment  will  be  taken  back  through  advertisement  profits.    The  project  includes  getting  permit  of  government  and  related  administration,  obtaining  funds,  choosing  and  purchasing  mobile  digital  terminals  in  the  existing  market,  reforming  subway  to  get  ready  for  installing,  supplying  company  installing  and  debugging  devices,  professional  TV  station  preparing  media  resources  and  testing  play,  and  lastly  put  devices  into  operation.  Subcontractors  will  be  used  to  do  the  most  of  tasks  above.        Within  several  months,  the  devices  be  well  set  up  and  satisfy  people  who  take  the  train,  with  investment  taken  back  and  profits  made  in  the  future.    Sincerely,  Shuyu  Zhang  

2.  Project  Objectives    The  objective  of  my  project  is  to  install  latest  mobile  digital  terminals  in  platforms  of  MBTA  subway.      It  is  has  been  so  familiar  for  us  to  see  people  napping  with  drowsy  eyes  in  the  MBTA  subway.  I  am  a  part  of  them  too  since  it  is  boring  there  and  time  just  goes  really  slow.  It  is  high  time  that  every  subway  needs  a  screen!    By  installing  these  screens,  the  MBTA  can  make  income  through  advertisement  and  other  indirect  ways.  Besides,  there  are  many  potential  business  opportunities  behind  this  action.  The  city  will  also  have  good  reputation  for  attending  the  people’s  needs  and  more  and  more  tourists  will  come  to  Boston,  which  will  be  great  benefits  for  all.          

             

3.  Critical  Success  Factors  of  the  Project    The  critical  success  factors  of  the  project  can  be  summarized  as  the  following  points:    • To  complete  the  project  in  32  days  and  within  budget.  • To  raise  enough  money  and  funds  before  the  given  date.  • To  successfully  install  screen  and  debug  devices.  • To  plan  and  control  all  factors  that  can  lead  to  the  improvement  of  the  project  better  outcome.  

• To  plan  a  successful  advertisement  marketing  promotion  of  the  new  digital  terminal.  

                           

 

4.  Assumption    1.  The  train  itself  is  in  good  condition  so  that  the  screen  can  be  properly  located.  2.  There  is  enough  space  in  the  subway  to  hold  the  screen.  3.  The  wireless  connection  is  good  enough  for  video  transmission.  4.  The  control  system  is  well  designed  to  control  the  TV  and  play  the  right  shows.  5.  The  electricity  can  be  supplied  and  charge  the  screen.  6.  The  noise  or  the  vibration  of  the  subway  will  not  influence  the  normal  function  of  the  screen.  7.  The  screen  itself  can  be  used  for  an  entire  day  without  turning  off  and  break  down.  8.  Advertisement  is  not  annoying  for  most  of  people  who  take  subway.                      

 

5.  Project  Organization    This  project  will  be  implemented  by  existing  departments  in  MBTA  and  the  project  manager  will  be  in  charge  of  the  whole  process.  The  project  will  be  conducted  in  functional  organization  and  professional  consultant  is  always  there  for  any  help.            

 

     

 Every  manager  is  in  charge  of  a  department  and  will  be  responsible  for  all  the  work  associated  to  their  team.  They  need  to  share  information  and  balance  their  resources  especially  money  to  make  the  most  of  every  strength  to  finish  the  project  on  time.      

   

President  

Project  Manager  

Marketing  Manager  

Contract  Manager  

Consultant  

Customer  Service  Manager  

Engineering  Manager  

6.Implementation  Plan    6.1  Task  List  • Define  project  goal  and  objectives  • Develop  project  charter  • Plan  resources,  people  and  stakeholder  involvement  • Establish  the  project  plan  • Investigate  feasibility  • Identify  customer  needs  • Develop  project  scope  from  project  objectives  • Get  permit  of  government  and  other  related  administration  

• Obtain  money  and  funds  • Raise  funds  from  outside  • Ask  for  financial  grant  from  the  state  • Comparing  and  choosing  screens  • Install  screens  in  subway  • Reform  subway  • Supplying  company  install  screens  • Debug  devices  • Prepare  for  media  resources  and  testing  play  • Put  devices  into  operation  • Refine  from  complaints  and  suggestions  • Assess  satisfaction  and  make  profits  • Summarize  project  results  and  lessons  learned  • Close  out  the  project  records  

           

6.2  Work  Breakdown  Structure  (WBS)    The  Work  Breakdown  Structure  is  a  description  of  all  the  tasks  to  complete  a  project,  organized  by  some  consistent  perspective  and  containing  a  variety  of  information  needed  for  that  perspective.    In  Appendix  A  the  WBS  of  this  project  is  shown.        6.3  Responsibility  Chart    This chart is a table showing, for each project task, who is responsible, accountable, who can be consulted, and who needs to be informed.

With the chart, all member of the project team will clearly understand their obligations and who to report or consult in certain task.  

The  RACI  Diagram  is  on  next  page.                  

RACI  Diagram      

WBS  Project  Manager  

Consultant   Contract  Manager  

Marketing  &Purchasing  Manager  

Engineering  Manager  

Customer  Service  Manager  

       1.1   R   C                  1.2   R   C   I                1.3   R   C   I   I   I   I          1.4   R   C                  2.1   R   C     A     A          2.2   R   C         A          2.3   R   C   I                3.1   R   C                  3.2   R   C                        3.2.0   R   C                        3.2.1   R   C                  3.3   R   C   A   A   I            3.4   R   C   A   A   A                  3.4.1   R   C   A     A                  3.4.2   R   C   A   A   A                  3.4.3   R   C   A     A            3.5   R   C   A   A   I            4.1   R   C       A            4.2   R   C     I   A   I          5.1   R   C     A     A          5.2   R   C   I   I   I   I          5.3   R   C   I   I   I   I    Legend:    R            Responsible    C            Consult      I              Inform    A            Accountable              

6.4  Scheduling  For  the  scheduling  of  the  project  two  methods  have  been  used:  Gantt  charts  and  PERT  analysis.                    6.4.1  Gantt  chart                In  Appendix  B  the  Gantt  chart  is  presented                6.4.2  PERT  analysis                In  Appendix  C  the  Network  Diagram  is  presented  (PERT)      

   

         

6.5  Resource  Allocation    The  resource  is  limited  since  this  project  is  mostly  supported  by  government.  So  we  must  make  the  most  of  every  cent  of  money.    In  planning  phase,  the  resource  we  need  is  just  human  brain.  However  this  is  the  most  important  process  of  all.  From  lower  to  higher,  everyone  should  try  their  best  to  come  up  with  great  ideas  about  how  to  save  money  and  how  to  better  make  things  down.  Resource  will  almost  remain  the  same  in  this  period.    Later  on,  with  the  development  of  the  concept,  some  money  should  be  used  because  we  need  to  do  some  investigation  to  identify  the  customers’  need.  Maybe  it  will  cost  5%  of  the  budget  to  do  that.    The  implement  process  is  the  crucial  part  of  project,  more  than  80%  of  budget  is  going  to  spend  in  this  phase.  Lastly,  the  termination  process  including  testing,  debugging  and  refinement  will  consist  of  10%.  The  closure  will  also  make  up  for  5%.  Some  manpower  is  needed  to  record  the  whole  process  and  summarize  the  drawback  and  achievement  so  that  they  will  benefit  the  future.      

 

7.  Financial  Plan  

Firstly when we decide to select a project, we need precede some method to better choose the proper project.

Project selection is the process of evaluating proposed projects or groups of projects, and then choosing to implement some set of them so that the objectives of the parent organization will be achieved. In this situation, we use numeric model to make decision.

Net present value (NPV) method determines the net present value of all cash flows by discounting them by the required rate of return.

Ft =the net cash flow in period t,

k =the required rate of return,

and ��� A0 = initial cash investment

𝑁𝑃𝑉 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 = 𝐴! +𝐹!

(1 + 𝑘)!

!

!!!

In this case, 𝐴!=500,000 which is the total estimated investment of the project, the required rate of return is about 15% and the net cash flow in every year is perhaps 100,000. After calculation, we can tell the project is worth invested.

There are direct cost and indirect cost need to be considered. Direct cost includes labor costs, material cost. Indirect cost consists of accounting cost, human resources cost and overhead cost.

The budgeting method should be bottom-up budgeting in order to take every detail into consideration and cover all the expenses with little mistake.

8. Monitoring and control

The reason we monitoring and control is that we should keeping stakeholders up to date on progress and team performance through reports and on-going documentation contributes to project success. Regularly assessing progress related to scope, benchmark goals, timeline, and budget helps to ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises as the project unfolds.

As the project progresses through each phase, it is important to secure the documentation related to completed portions of the project. Re-visiting other process groups to be sure that objectives have been met reflecting any changes is part of the follow-through needed as the project continues toward completion.

If there have been adjustments to budget, timeline, or the desired end-product, it is important to re-visit the documentation related to scope and mitigate any unresolved challenges. Maintaining effective communication with stakeholders and related constituents will keep everyone updated and engaged in the project’s success.

Every project has a schedule baseline. As the project progresses adjustments are often necessary to address unforeseen circumstances. Monitoring the project properly can decrease the chances that schedule issues become major setbacks.

Many factors will affect cost throughout the project timeline. Keeping track of any changes in budget is important so that communication around the control of costs is clear and accurate.

Quantifying and reporting quality control issues are necessary – and ongoing – to support the accuracy and responsiveness of the project. Based on findings during monitoring, process adjustments can be made.

All above are what we should do.

9. Risk Assessment

After  finishing  planning  your  project's  scope,  timeline,  budget,  tasks  and  milestones,  we  need  to  plan  ahead  for  the  unexpected  and  assesses  the  possible  impact  future  risks  can  have  on  the  overall  project.      Calculate  risk  exposure  based  on  impact,  probability  and  controllability.  Rate  each  on  a  scale  that  you  determine,  such  as  insignificant  to  critical  or  high  to  low.      Put  risk  avoidance  and  mitigation  strategies  into  place.  Start  by  reviewing  your  project's  scope  and  eliminating  any  pieces  that  are  not  essential  to  a  successful  completion.  As  you  narrow  the  scope,  you  may  find  that  many  of  the  identified  risks  are  no  longer  relevant.  For  risks  that  have  a  high  level  of  controllability,  make  plans  for  how  you  can  reduce  the  risk  of  them  occurring  and  minimize  their  impact  if  they  do  occur.    Create  contingency  strategies,  sometimes  called  "Plan  B."  Assign  each  risk  to  one  team  member  who  will  watch  for  indicators  or  symptoms  of  the  risk  throughout  the  project.  This  will  help  you  to  recognize  developing  risks  early  on,  giving  you  the  opportunity  to  put  contingencies  in  place  before  they  become  critical.  Identify  what  those  contingencies  are,  or  how  you  will  counteract  the  risk's  impact  as  it  happens.      

10  Summary    My  project  is  to  Install  Screen  in  MBTA,  the  scope  is  relatively  small  since  the  budget  is  not  over  500,000.  However,  the  work  takes  out  more  than  6  months.  Besides,  this  project  is  rarely  done  before  in  the  United  States,  So  we  need  to  pay  more  attention  to  it.    The  stakeholders  are  MBTA  and  subcontractors  include  screen  provide  company,  network  service  provider,  subway  repair  factory,  and  TV  station.  Thousands  of  people  will  benefit  both  Boston  citizen  and  traveller.  They  will  feel  less  boring  on  the  way.  Government  and  other  departments  will  also  earn  reputation.    I  believe  in  the  future,  we  can  watch  TV  in  subway.                        

11.Appendix  A:  WBS  Project  Name:  Install  Screen  in  MBTA    1.0  Project  Planning  

1.1  Define  project  goal  and  objectives  1.2  Develop  project  charter  1.3  Plan  resources,  people  and  stakeholder  involvement  1.4  Establish  the  project  plan  

2.0  Concept  Development  2.1  Investigate  feasibility  2.2  Identify  customer  needs  2.3Develop  project  scope  from  project  objectives  

3.0  Project  Implement  3.1  Get  permit  of  government  and  other  related  administration  3.2  Obtain  money  and  funds            3.2.0  Raise  funds  from  outside            3.2.1  Ask  for  financial  grant  from  the  state  3.3  Comparing  and  choosing  screens  3.4  Install  screens  in  subway              3.4.1  Reform  subway              3.4.2  Supplying  company  install  screens  

                                             3.4.3  Debug  devices  3.5  Prepare  for  media  resources  and  testing  play  

4.0  Operation  and  refinement  4.1  Put  devices  into  operation  4.2  Refine  from  complaints  and  suggestions  

5.0  Project  closure  5.1  Assess  satisfaction  and  make  profits  5.2  Summarize  project  results  and  lessons  learned  5.3  Close  out  the  project  records  

             

B:  Gantt  Chart:  Attached  PDF  file  C:  PERT:  Attached  PDF  file