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To access the contents, click the chapter and section titles.
Wireless Networking Handbook
The WBS, schedule, and resource plan provide the basis for determining the cost of the project. Before estimating the cost, you will need to assign resources to each WBS task. In other words, identify who will be managing and performing the work for each task and indicate any necessary materials. The next step is to calculate labor and material (including travel) costs for each task, phase, and the entire project. Again, you might need to perform at least a preliminary requirements assessment and design before being able to determine costs associated with the hardware and software of the system being implemented. During the execution of the project, you will need to track whether the project is being completed within budget. To facilitate budget control, assign unique account codes to project phases and subcodes to each WBS task. During the planning stages of the project, the initial budget is likely to be merely an estimate. After completing the requirements and design stages, the team might need to adjust the budget to reflect more precise information. Figure 5.8 identifies the major items of a project budget.
Defining Project OperationsThe project scope, work plan, schedule, resources, and budget are the physical makeup of the project. To ensure a project runs smoothly, however, you should also define project operations by developing an operations plan. This plan covers the rules and practices people should follow during the project. What aspects of the project should the operations plan cover? Generally, you should specify procedures for project actions that need to be followed each time the action is required. For instance, you should include these items in the operations plan:
To develop a project operations plan, review existing corporate and local policies and regulations, then define procedures for items that team members must accomplish in a unique manner. Also, be sure to identify any restrictions that corporate policies and other regulations place on the project. Dealing with Project RisksThe success of a project is often jeopardized by unforeseen elements that crop up at inopportune times. The nasty truth is that many projects are not completed on time, within schedule, or as expected. As an example, a project team might successfully complete the design stage of the project and be ready to purchase the components when they discover the customers upper management has lost interest in the project and has withheld further funding. Or, you do a thorough job of defining user needs and then the team is not successful at determining a set of technologies and products that will fulfill the requirements. To maximize the success of a project, the project team must not only develop a WBS, schedule, and resource plan, but also continually identify and manage risks. Risk management should begin early in the project, even during the planning stage, then continue throughout the project. A risk factor usually has more impact if you dont attempt counter measures until later in the project. To avoid negative consequences, the team can manage risks by identifying risk factors and determining methods to reduce them. A risk factor is anything that might have adverse effects on the outcome of the project. Here are examples of risks factors you should consider:
You can control risks by following these steps:
Creating the Project PlanBefore placing the project in full motion, you should collect all the individual planning elements and create a project plan as shown in figure 5.9. This could be as simple as putting a cover around the planning documents you already prepared. You can use the project plan to effectively manage the project through all phases.
Most organizations require a review and approval of the project plan by upper management before executing the project. As a final check before giving your project plan to an executive, use the following list to be certain the project plan:
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