Improvements to ORION Project Structure and Organization for
Project Jaguar
Improvements to ORION Project Structure and Organization for
Project Jaguar ByGroup B Benjamin Broxterman, Pastaveia St John,
& Michael Wyss JAGUAR PROJECT OVERVIEWORION awarded government
contract to build next generation high-speed, light-rail trainsHigh
profile project- if successful, potential for other government
contractsHighly competitive- bidders have promised earlier
deadline, better quality, reliability, & lower cost
ORION has been awarded a coveted government contract to build
the next generation of high-speed, light-rail trains which they
have titled the Jaguar project. This is a high profile project that
could allow ORION to procure additional government contracts if
they do well. There has been increased competition in the market
which has caused bidders for Jaguar to promise an earlier deadline,
better quality, increased reliability, and lower cost.
2CHALLENGESProject Manager: Mike RosasProblems facing ORION
team:Lack of manufacturing design = higher cost than
expectedReactive approach to quality management = quality
issuesPoor quality user manuals/technical documents = customer
support issuesMatrix arrangement = lack of project ownershipLack of
constraints on design engineers = scope creep
Project manager Mike Rosas will need to address several problems
in developing a plan that will allow ORION to meet the expectations
of the contract:- Higher than expected cost caused due to lack of
manufacturing design.- Quality issues due to a reactive approach to
quality management.- Customer support issues attributed to poor
quality user manuals and technical documents.- Lack of strong
project ownership by employees due to the matrix arrangement
causing members of the project to not identify with individual
projects and lose excitement and willingness to contribute to
superior performance.- Scope creep due to lack of proper
constraints put on design engineers who lose focus on project goals
due to their focus on the science of the project.
3OUR FOCUSOrganization of Project JaguarEfficiency improvements
& maximized use of resourcesProject master plansThe main areas
we will focus on are the organization of project Jaguar by review
of the organizational chart and master plans.
We will make suggestions to maximize use of resources and
improve efficiency from the typical project model ORION has been
known to use in the past.
4Organization of Project JaguarCurrent model: matrix structure-
can lead to:Higher costsQuality issuesLack of strong project
ownershipORION insists that a matrix approach must be used in order
to complete all of the various projects for which the company is
currently contracted.
3 of the main problems we have already discussed can be directly
linked to use of a matrix structure. Critics are quick to point out
that the matrix arrangement is cumbersome, costly, and difficult to
understand.
Transitioning to a dedicated team can help address these issues,
as well as improve performance in several other ways.
5Organization of Project JaguarSolution: transition to dedicated
teamAdvantages (Baker, 2009):Customer and project focusFast
communicationProblem solving and decision makingIncreased
cooperation between functionsResources dedicated to team- saves
timeBy transitioning to a dedicated team, there are numerous
benefits that will improve productivity and quality of the project.
Dean Bakers Multi-Company Project Management: Maximizing Business
Results Through Strategic Collaboration lists several of these
advantages.
A dedicated team would be able to be more focused on the project
and the needs of the customer.Communication would be streamlined
between team members.Problem solving and decision making processes
would be simplified due to the increased focus on this
project.Cooperation and the elimination of gaps between different
functions attached to the project would lead to increased
productivity.Having resources dedicated to the team would save time
by ensuring that:- there is no wait time for resources, such as
skilled workers- employees dont have to be caught up as they move
from one project to another
6Organization of Project JaguarAlternative solution: hybrid
teamSome dedicated team members, some matrix, orTransition from
dedicated team to matrix as project allowsClelland (1998) -
different management structures can be applied at different phases
of the project life cycle.
An alternative option to explore would be the use of hybrid
teams. This could include either a mixture of dedicated and matrix
team members, or a transition from a dedicated team to a matrix
team as the project progresses and allows. Cleland highlights that
different management structures can be used in different phases of
a project life cycle. This approach might be one that is more easy
to swallow financially and from a human resource standpoint, but
still allows for allocation of appropriate resources to
successfully complete this project.7Efficiency & Use of
ResourcesCurrent resources allocated to similar projects by
ORION:Project managerPlanning and control managerElectronics system
engineerOn a project of this scale, ORION typically allocates the
following resources:- Project manager- responsible for the overall
success of the project- Planning and control manager: responsible
for building an overall project network, scheduling, managing the
budget, controlling and evaluating the design and development
program, and preparing status reports- Electronics system engineer:
responsible for technical expertise on electronic systems
In order to maximize efficiency and use of resources, additional
staff positions are needed.8Efficiency & Use of
ResourcesSuggested additions to project management staff to
increase overall efficiency: Quality managerensure quality final
project increase customer satisfaction and retention (Rose,
2005)Design/Production managerOversee design engineersCreate
production scheduleDesign production lineAfter reviewing current
organizational structure and some of the issues that have plagues
ORION, we would suggest the following:- Addition of a quality
manager to address quality concerns and transition to a proactive
approach to quality management. This would reduce or eliminate
quality issues that slip by and cause a sub-par final product to be
delivered. A quality manager responsible for addressing these
issues would help ensure that the delivered product meets or
exceeds the customers expectations, which in turn can encourage the
customer to return when they have future needs. Additionally,
quality management can reduce waste, increase efficiency, and
improve supplies.- A design/production manager could help increase
productivity in several ways. They could reduce delays in the
design phase by keeping design engineers on a timeline, and on task
in order to reduce scope creep. This person could also design the
production line, which would improve quality and reduce costs. -
These 2 managers could collaborate to improve quality of customer
support tools that are developed, as they will be fully aware of
common issues during all phases and design and production.9Project
Jaguar Master PlanORION typically uses linear plan for product
development and launchInefficient use of time and resourcesMoving
suitable activities forward in timeline maximizes time
usageBuilding production lineDocumentation/training
Historically, ORION uses linear approach for product development
and launch. This leads to an inefficient use of time and resources.
This can be likened to a cook putting a hamburger on the grill,
then sitting back and waiting for it to be done before preparing
the bun and condiments to finish the meal.
Maximizing use of time and resources is particularly important
to this project, with its already crunched timeline. Several
activities can be moved forward and done simultaneously in order to
maximize usage of time, and reduce overall project completion time.
Building of the production line and documentation and training can
be done simultaneously with the core development work in order to
facilitate this.10FOLLOW UPChanges made to project after our
preliminary report:Half of each team dedicated to Project Jaguar3
manager positions addedSuggested parts of master plan moved forward
in timeline
After our preliminary report, project manager Rosas implemented
the following changes to increase productivity and project
efficiency. Half of each team was assigned to be dedicated to
Project Jaguar to ensure that team members develop strong sense of
project ownership as they will be working full time on this
project. ILS manager to handle project/customer support, quality
manager, and production manager to handle production issues were
all added to streamline processes and increase product quality.
Building and testing of production line and documentation and
training were all moved forward on the project timeline in order to
maximize use of time and allow additional time to identify and
correct issues.
11CONCLUSIONTransition to a dedicated or hybrid project team
will simplify communication and teamwork to increase
productivity.Addition of a quality manager and design/production
manager to the project leadership team can help streamline the
design and production process and increase the quality of the
product and customer service.Examination of master plan and
coordinating parts of project that can be done simultaneously
improves production and reduces overall timeline.Changes made for
Project Jaguar can be applied to other projects to increase ORIONs
competitiveness.
The suggestions made, while perhaps not the norm for ORION and
potentially less cost-effective up front, will help ORION deliver a
project that is on-time or ahead of schedule, on or under budget,
and very high quality. Reduction in overall production costs and
costs of revisions/corrections after project completion will likely
be realized. Additionally, successful completion of this project is
likely to ensure that ORION is seriously considered for future
contracts and projects, which will bring additional work and
revenue.12REFERENCESBaker, D. (2009). Multi-company project
management: Maximizing business results through strategic
collaboration. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com/books?id=rv4tXEbdjY8C&pg=PA47&dq=Benefits+of+dedicated+project+teams&hl=en&ei=xx6qTbOBE8rgiAK96dDvDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=snippet&q=dedicated%20project&f=falseCleland,
D. I. (1998). Project management: Strategic design and
implementation. Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.sckans.edu/lib/southwesternks/docDetail.action?docID=10152685Rose,
K. H. (2005). Project quality management: Why, what, and how.
Retrieved from
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.sckans.edu/lib/southwesternks/docDetail.action?docID=10124760
