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Blue Spider Project Case Study

 Global Business (Walden University )

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Blue Spider Project Case Study

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Blue Spider Project Case Study

Problem

The challenges faced by the Parks Corporation in executing the Blue Spider Project

started when Henry Gamble, the director of Engineering, appointed Gary Anderson as the project

manager for this project. There was no consultation with Elliot Grey, the program management

director, when appointing Gary Anderson as project manager for this project. This was because

Henry Gamble was using Anderson for his plan as he was inexperienced in management and

hence was easier to manipulate. Despite being a brilliant senior scientist and production engineer,

Gary Anderson was too inexperienced to head such a big project as the Blue Spider Project.

Therefore the project was doomed to fail when Gary Anderson decided to head the

project. Gary chose to continue with the project proposal despite the initial tests proving that

their product design would `not meet the temperature range according to the customer’s

specifications. Gary was therefore invested in the project, which made him want to do all the

work by himself leading to an imbalance between his administrative and technical

responsibilities in the project. These led him to fail in his role as a project manager, such as poor

communication between him and the customer. Lord industries even set an office at Park’s

corporation to closely monitor the project as they felt they were not been informed well on the

project's progress. Gary was also unable to manage the project's schedule, which led to additional

costs which were initially unintended. Miscommunication on the project's matters between the

functional departments also led to a waste of valuable resources, evidenced by one department

testing the existing material for two months. The other department was trying a new material that

would meet the customer's temperature range wanted.

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In summary, the Blue Spider project's challenges included behavioral leadership

problems, lack of strategic planning, poor functional management, poor prioritization of the

project, lack of strategic planning, and poor communication. The project was also faced with

poor customer focus, no quality assurance, and a lack of project management processes. The

organization structure was also to blame as there were authority, accountability, and

responsibility issues, leading to poor information flow among the internal stakeholders. Although

Gary was significantly to blame, a host of other factors like Henry's integrity and the company’s

value system were also to blame.

Variables

Controlled Variables

 Appointed Project Manager.

 Resources allocated to the project.

 Materials to be used in the design.

 Project cost proposal and terms.

 What and when information is released to the customer.

Uncontrolled Variables

 Competitor’s Project cost and terms.

 Materials used by the competitors in the design.

 Customer design specifications.

 Stakeholders involved.

 Cost of materials to be used in the design.

 Customer meeting schedules.

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Organizational Objectives

1. Win the Proposal.

2. Lock the contract after the ten-month effort.

3. Use the new material to meet the customer temperature range specifications.

4. Complete the project as per the customer requirements.

5. Make a huge profit from the Blue Spider project in the future after been awarded

the $500 million contract that would span 20 years.

Organizational Restrictions and Constraints

 Project schedule as stated by the customer.

 Customer specifications in terms of the temperature range.

 Material limitations as only tested and existing ones were advocated for use in the

design.

 Internal time constraints on the part of the department in meeting the work

schedule required by the customer.

Alternatives

 Gary should have played his part as an engineer by speaking the proposed

material and design, not reaching the customer’s temperature range specifications.

 Gary should also not have participated in project proposal preparations.

 With the project not won on honesty grounds, Gary would not have accepted the

project manager's role.

 Gary would have resigned from his role as project manager earlier.

 Indicate the probability of using a new material to meet the temperature range

requirements right from the project’s proposal.

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 Focus on using the existing material and make it work as per the requirements of

the customer.

Assumptions

 A project manager must finish the project and hence cannot resign midway.

 The existing material could not have worked.

 Customer specifications are not changeable.

 Proposing a material change during the proposal would have led to the project

been awarded to their competitors.

Quantitative Technique

Earned value management (EVM) is a project management methodology that measures

the performance of the project by keeping track of the scope, schedule, and costs ("Earned value

management: EVM basics," 2020). Hence an Earned value management (EVM) system would

have helped Gary, the project manager, keep track of the project’s schedule and costs.

Acquire Input Data

1. Work Breakdown Structure

2. Project reports of completed tasks or progress in percentage.

3. The budgeted cost for work scheduled (BCWS).

4. Actual cost for work performed.

5. Calculate cost and schedule variance.

6. Calculate cost and schedule performance indexes.

Solution

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1. Create a Project Charter document comprising the project scope, deliverables,

project resource requirements, Customer acceptance demands, and the initial

assumptions and risks.

2. Utilize a work breakdown structure (WBS).

3. Create a risk management plan.

4. Create a clear communication management plan.

5. Develop a Responsibility Assignment Matrix.

Solution Test

A project charter is a formal document that states the scope, objectives, and the relevant

stakeholders involved in the project (Ray, 2017). The document also defines the project

manager's authority and assigns the participants of the project their roles and responsibilities.

Hence, the project charter would ensure that all the stakeholders know what is expected of them

to succeed.

A work breakdown structure is a detailed statement of the work to be performed by the

project stakeholders to achieve the projective's objectives ("What is work breakdown structure? "

n.d.). It is vital in a project as it clarifies and offers a detailed picture of the project activities that

need to be accomplished and by whom. The work breakdown structure would ensure effective

planning of the project’s activities.

A risk management plan is a preset organized way of identifying, measuring, and

mitigating risks if they occur in the project (Kerzner, 2004, p. 553). It also specifies who is

responsible for handling which risks and how additional funds will be reserved to mitigate risks

during the project implantation and execution.

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A communication management plan is a document that highlights and outlines the needs

and expectations for the entire project in terms of communication ("Communication management

plan," 2008). Having a communication plan would have helped solve problems, mitigate risks

and maintain the project schedule effectively. Good communication is also vital in the smooth

running of the project.

A responsibility assignment matrix is a document that describes roles, people,

departments, or organizations' participation in completing tasks in a project. This document

would have helped classify the roles and responsibilities in the functional departments and

processes. The document would also have stated clearly who was accountable for which tasks.

Result Analysis

Project Charter would have ensured that all the stakeholders, especially the internal

stakeholders, know their roles and responsibilities. It would also have clearly stated the project

manager's authority in the implementation and execution of the project.

Work breakdown schedule would have clearly outlined the project management activities,

leading to a proactive management style rather than the reactive kind of management used.

A risk management plan would have ensured that the temperature issue was solved

effectively and efficiently, not to affect the project schedule or cost.

A communication management plan would have helped Anderson communicate

effectively with both internal and external stakeholders, ensuring the project runs smoothly. It

would have also reduced the cost incurred due to miscommunication that led to cost implications

due to schedule lags.

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The responsibility Assignment matrix would have helped Anderson delegate tasks more

effectively and hold the ones responsible for the project delays.

Action Plan

1. Develop a project charter that contains the scope and the role and responsibilities

of all stakeholders in the project.

2. Create a Work Breakdown Schedule that outlines the project activities and their

predicted time of completion.

3. Formulate a risk management plan to help identify, measure and mitigate the

risks.

4. Formulate a communication management plan to describe how the information

will flow both vertically and horizontally among the relevant stakeholders.

5. Develop a responsibility matrix that will make it easier to manage tasks and hold

the people accountable for any mishaps.

Action Plan Presentation

The action plan will be presented as a report with all the five items discussed above.

Implementation, Evaluation, and Maintenance of the Action Plan

1. Create a project charter based on the specifications of the project and the relevant

stakeholders.

2. Use the scope outlined in the project charter to make a Work breakdown schedule

that outlines the specific tasks and activities to be accomplished in the project.

3. Hold a meeting with the relevant stakeholders to come up with a risk management

plan.

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4. Hold a meeting with the relevant stakeholders to come up with a communication

plan

5. Develop a responsibility assignment matrix with the help of the project team

leaders.

6. Utilize an Earned Value Management System to track and evaluate the project’s

progress.

References

Communication management plan. (2008, January 15). Project Management Knowledge -

Simply explained by a PMI-certified Project Manager. https://project-management-

knowledge.com/definitions/c/communication-management-plan/

Earned value management: EVM basics. (2020, October 5). EcoSys.

https://www.ecosys.net/knowledge/earned-value-management-basics/

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10

Kerzner, H. (2004). Advanced project management: Best practices on implementation. John

Wiley & Sons.

Ray, S. (2017, 26). A quick guide to project charters (Example included). ProjectManager.com.

https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/project-charter

What is work breakdown structure? (n.d.). Ideal Modeling & Diagramming Tool for Agile Team

Collaboration. https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/project-management/what-is-

work-breakdown-structure/#

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