China Telecom Corporation, LTD.: Case Study

China Telecom Corporation, Ltd.
CASE STUDY

PMI standards used to develop communications network for city
China Telecom Corporation Limited (China Telecom) is the
worlds largest landline telecommunications and broadband
services provider. Covering cities and towns as well as the
rural areas of China, China Telecom has more than 220 million
landline subscribers and more than 35 million broadband
subscribers, and penetrates every corner of the world.
Shenzhen Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of China
Telecom in Shenzhen city has successfully leveraged PMI
guidelines to manage one of the companys largest and most
successful projects, which would later be deemed the No. 1
Project for Shenzhen Telecom in 2006.
Background
In May 2006, Shenzhen Telecom won the bid to develop
the communications network for Shenzhen citys Nanshan
District of China, a project that would connect government
offices, neighborhoods, schools and community healthcare
service centers. Shenzhen Telecom was tasked to extend
optical fibers throughout the area with the goal of improving
the governments ability to serve its people and promote
seamless and effective communication.
The China Telecom Shenzhen project team began work on
the Nanshan District on July 6, 2006, over a year after they
won the bid, and aimed to complete the project by November
of 2006. The total contract amount for the project was
US$3million.
Challenges
The Nanshan District project presented various challenges
for the Shenzhen project team. Staying on schedule was a
primary concern as the signing of the contract, which would
officially launch the project, was completed late in the
schedule. Due to the delay of the contract, the team initiated
the project according to the information in the letter of
intent, which posed some problems as the letter of intent and
the actual contract differed slightly. This caused the team to
have to make changes and modifications mid-project which,

in turn, impacted the overall schedule.
The Nanshan District Optical Fiber Network consisted of
six optical fiber networks: government, education, health,
network, community network, and politics and law network,
all of which were connected to the three levels of Nanshan
District government, sub-district offices and communities.
Having this many networks posed a challenge as the Shenzhen
project team needed to ensure that activities associated with
each unit were appropriately coordinated with the greater
team.
The complexity and scope of the project itself presented
a challenge for the team as well. Due to the vast size
of the project, Shenzhen Telecom had to involve 10
different departments within the company and required
the participation of numerous related units of design,
construction and supervision, which necessitated immense
organization and management. These units would have to
oversee the laying of more than 426 new routes of optical
fibers to create the network for the Nanshan District, and
the project execution required difficult coordination and
mandatory approvals that threatened the projects predetermined timeline and schedule. Additionally, with so many
individuals involved in such a complex project, there was a
high risk of communication failures.
Solutions
To ensure that the Nanshan District project was completed
on time and within the boundaries set by the District, the
Shenzhen project team utilized standards defined by PMI to
ensure successful collaboration and project management.
Due to the immense scope of the Nanshan District Network,
the leaders of Shenzhen Telecom attached great importance
to the project, terming it the No. 1 Project, and formed a
Project Management Committee, which would give the China
Telecom team structure and standardized processes. Under
the committee, there was a Client Coordination Team, Project
Construction Team and Deployment & Delivery Team, which

formed a project management organizational structure that
built a sound management platform.
To ensure timely and effective communication, the team
launched the No. 1 Project Mailbox, which provided a
platform for the team to share updates surrounding logistical
information, ongoing activities and scheduling, and gave
all the individuals involved full visibility into the project. In
addition, the project team ensured effective communication
by fully leveraging traditional project management
communication means such as coordinating routine meetings
to discuss project initiatives and developing weekly reports to
track project progress.
Communication was also strengthened with the development
of a unified client communication interface, which was
a system where various Shenzhen Telecom centers had a
designated Nanshan District channel contact as the interface
for communication with the client. This helped improve
client satisfaction because each individual Nanshan District
Network was given exclusive attention so communications
regarding changes and other issues were efficiently and
successfully addressed.
The project documentation processes put in place also helped
ensure things ran smoothly as it enabled the team to review
the progress of each activity and identify scheduling and
budget problems before they became unmanageable. As part
of the documentation process, specific team members were
appointed to take charge of managing the documents and
project logs were developed and refreshed regularly. This, in
turn, kept the team on task and effectively controlled the
many moving parts of the project.
To further ensure that the project stayed on schedule and
ran smoothly, the Shenzhen project team took measures
to anticipate difficulties in meeting the project schedule
and then created plans and programs to overcome those
potential issues. For example, using proven PMI standards
and principles, the team addressed the anticipated schedule
difficulties by instituting a program in which the performance
progress of each unit associated with the project was made
visible across all units and top performers were publicly
recognized. This inspired the team to stay on task and work
hard to achieve both personal and team success. Additionally,
during the last phase of the project, the team launched the
No. 1 Project War Room, which released a daily countdown
report to create a sense of urgency and fulfillment among
team members, further helping them meet the project
schedule.
Results
The Nanshan District Network project was successfully
completed on November 28, 2006ahead of the teams
target completion date. Through the use of proven project
management ideologies, the China Telecom team was not
only able to keep the project on schedule, but it was also able
to execute activities effectively and efficiently.
Given that they were so pleased with the execution and
outcome of the project, the Nanshan District government
awarded Shenzhen Telecom with a pennant for its
performance.
In addition to the great results and benefits that the Nanshan
District achieved, the project also produced significant
economic and social benefits for Shenzhen Telecom. In fact,
the success of the project has enhanced Shenzhen Telecoms
credibility as the top communications provider, truly making
the Nanshan District Network project the undisputable No. 1
Project for Shenzhen Telecom in 2006-2007.
Key achievements
The China Telecom Shenzhen project team was able to
complete the project successfully and within the predetermined timeline.

The Nanshan District government was so pleased with
the delivery and execution of the project that it awarded

a pennant to Shenzhen Telecom.
The development of the unified client communication
interface was the first of its kind for a large Shenzhen

Telecom client and marked a best practice program
that will be applied to large Shenzhen Telecom clients
moving forward.
Shenzhen Telecom strictly enforced project
management standards and processes, which effectively

controlled the impact of mid-project changes with the
final control ratio maintained at 22.8 percent.
2012 Project Management Institute, Inc. All rights reserved. PMI and the PMI logo are marks of Project Management Institute, Inc
For a comprehensive list of PMI marks, contact the PMI Legal Department.
ORG-6030-2011(01/12)

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China Telecom Corporation, Ltd.

China Telecom Corporation, Ltd.

have to make changes and modifications mid-project which,

China Telecom Corporation, Ltd.

Construction Team and Deployment & Delivery Team, which

complete the project successfully and within the predetermined timeline.

the delivery and execution of the project that it awarded

interface was the first of its kind for a large Shenzhen

management standards and processes, which effectively

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