MBA642 Project Initiation, Planning and Execution Report Sample-2

MBA642 Project Initiation, Planning and Execution Report Sample-2

Your task

Individually, you are required to prepare a 2000-word report in which you are to analyse the success and failure factors of a major Australian project by considering its ethical compromises.

Assessment Description

In this individual assessment, students will be given an opportunity to analyse the organisational factors that promote effective project management. The success and failure factors and ethical considerations for each of the 5 IPECC phases will need to be considered.

Assessment Instructions

Please choose one of the following projects as the basis for your research (Based on your choice, you are to focus on the construction and implementation of the project, following the IPECC phases, and not its current operations beyond what is required in closure).
Please note that the above links give only an initial outline of the project’s delivery, and substantial additional research will be required to complete your assessment successfully.

Once you have conducted thorough research about your chosen project, you are then required to prepare a 2000-word report in which you are to:

• Analyse in detail both the steps critical for your chosen project’s success and the critical pitfalls that could have led to its failure. Relate the specific success and fail factors to your nominated project, and do not just describe a generic theory or simple definitions.

• For each of the 5 IPECC stages, you are to analyse the success and failure factors for each of those stages. You are required to analyse at least one success criteria and at least one failure criteria for each stage. If you are unable to identify success or failure criteria for a particular stage, you are required to postulate at least one criteria. Still, it must be based on sound theory and your knowledge of the case study.

• Integrate the ethical considerations into each of these steps and show how ethical considerations may impact the success or failure of the chosen project.
In preparing this report, you will need to use at least 10 sources of information and reference these in accordance with the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include websites, government publications, industry reports, census data, journal articles, and newspaper articles. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a reference list at the end of your proposal. Wikipedia and other ‘popular’ sites are not to be used.

Solution

Introduction

Melbourne metro refers to a particular generational change to the rail network that is situated in Metropolitan. The Sunshine-Dandenong Line has long-term capacity through the middle of this century thanks to Melbourne Metro, which also meets the expansion demands of Melbourne's busiest lines. One of the most expensive public transportation projects ever in Australia, the Melbourne Metro is expected to cost $10.9 billion (Authority, 2018). Before 30 years, the completion of city loop has been done and it has been identified to be the first investment that is aligned to the metropolitan rail system of the CBD. Melbourne Metro is a game-changing project that can carry 39,000 people to and from Melbourne's CBD during peak hours and will allow for future capacity expansions. According to the MBA Assignment Expert By 2051, Melbourne's population is projected to nearly double, and by 2031, average daily boardings on metropolitan trains are anticipated to more than double. Melbourne Metro is intended to relieve a public transportation infrastructure that is under significant pressure and offer viable public transportation choices to Melbourne's expanding population in order to retain Melbourne and Victoria's liveability and prosperity (Authority, 2018). However, the following sections would be helpful for discussing the success factors that have been supporting the project to be successfully completed. The failure factors that could have led the project towards facing failure, would also be a part of the following discussion.

Analyze in Detail Both The Steps Critical for The Chosen Project’s Success and The Critical Pitfalls

The main purpose of the following project is to support the growing knowledge economy of Victoria and provide employment opportunities to the local communities. It would have the capacity of accommodating nearly 39.000 passengers within the duration of two hours and it would also help the passengers to return to their host stations in the evening after work (Authority, 2018). The research has ensured that there have been some success as well as failure criteria that have worked as important factors behind this project. The optimum commercial framework for managing these risks in a live rail setting is anticipated to come from a competitive alliance model.

The success factors include, Economic support

A BCR of 1.5 to 3.3 when WEBs are taken into account strengthens the economic argument for Melbourne Metro. A once-in-a-generation city-shaping initiative, Melbourne Metro has the potential to drastically change Melbourne's metropolitan landscape. Melbourne Metro and the UK's Cross rail project are comparable in many aspects (Build, 2022). It increases access to economic prospects, top-notch employment options, and services by making it very simple for employees to commute to and from the CBD. Additionally, it gives CBD firms access to a diverse and larger pool of labour. Melbourne Metro creates a variety of WEBs, chief among which are the agglomeration economies, by enabling more employees (and enterprises) to locate in highly productive, employment-dense locations.

 
Figure 1: Economic benefits
(Source: Authority, 2018)

A rational tiered approach to extending the rail network is made possible by Melbourne Metro's incorporation of features like longer platforms and high capacity signalling, which serve as the foundation for future network enhancements. The BCR climbs to 1.5 to 3.2 without WEBs and 2.1 to 4.5 including WEBs when the costs and benefits of an Extended Program (for instance, future developments enabled on the Sunshine-Dandenong Line) are taken into consideration.

Technological Support 

While business-as-usual development is pursuing the HCS and HCMT alternatives, which increase capacity, they are unable to satisfy demand requirements without substantial additional infrastructure investment. For instance, HCS can only add four trains per hour to the Northern Loop, which runs the Craigieburn, Upfield, and Sunbury Lines, which is less than half of the extra capacity that was added on day one to meet demand on these lines during the construction of Melbourne Metro (Build, 2022). This is why a whole new Extended HCMTs has been introduced to the project. Hence, it can be said that the technological support has helped the metro project to be successful.

Improved Infrastructure

The research has shown that the requirement of introducing a new technology that is highly costly, has been avoided by the stand alone metro options and it tends to incorporate the technologies that are much cheaper. The ultimate development of the standalone network is significant for ensuring the fact that the construction might not face any disruption (Build, 2022). This is why the existing infrastructure has been improved so that it can be able to support the newly developed objectives. 

The Failure Factors Include, Poor Ground Condition

Due to heavy rain or other natural calamities, there might be a chance that the condition of the ground is not good and it can be one of the major risk factors that can disrupt the smooth continuation of the project.

Lack of Good Performance

The research has ensured the fact that there are a significant number of new technologies that have been introduced to the project for the successful deliverance of the project. The engaged staff members along with project team members need to have a brief knowledge regarding the use of the technologies so that they can be able to handle them in the right way (Build, 2022). The slower performance of the TBM can lead the project towards facing delay issues and it also might lead the project towards going through a redesign process. 

Defected Materials

During the operation phase, defects can be found in the materials that can actually affect the construction or the designing of the stations as well as the roads apparently. It might lead the project towards requiring an extra cost which can lead the project towards failing.

Improper Design

If the key standards do not meet with the criteria and the amended objectives, it might create a mess in the design which would lead the entire project towards facing negative consequences. 

Delay in Delivery

A delay might potentially have a negative impact on the project's completion due to the intricacy of the work (especially at the Eastern Portal) and the requirement for train occupations. The competitive alliance partners may start design and construction planning early, and if an unforeseen event does arise, the parties are incentivized to work together to remedy the problem as soon as possible. These factors make an alliance framework the greatest option for reducing this risk (Authority, 2018). Value for money and a certain degree of predictability should be provided by a competitive partnership with the right KPIs. In order to increase competition during the bidding process, it is also advised to procure the alliance as a competitive Target Output Cost (TOC) alliance.
5 IPECC stages and success and failure factors for each of those stages

Initiating

The initiating stage of IPECC includes the project overview, objectives and roles and responsibilities of other members (Brown et al. 2019). The initiation stage helps to understand the standard variable used before starting the plan. Melbourne metro also focuses on the accountability of sponsors, project manager, stakeholders and so on. The main objective of the Melbourne metro is to increase productivity and provide many benefits to society (Build, 2022). It effectively integrated a new infrastructure into the public transport system that attracted more people. The success faced by Melbourne Metro in the initiating phase is the public transport growth. It effectively attracts many people toward public transport. However, the economy is acting as a failure factor in the initiating stage. Melbourne Metro constructively suffers from cost blowouts and delays.

Planning 

This process helps to understand the effort and the cost adopted by Melbourne Metro. The planning map also covers the risk and opportunities faced by the company during the execution of the program. During the planning of the project, Melbourne met a threat regarding the capacity of the. Besides that, they also indicated the low funding that inhibited the execution of the project. However, the success factor faced by Melbourne Metro in the stage of planning is the success in developing infrastructure.

Executing 

Many factors are responsible for the proper execution of the Melbourne Metro project. In the phase of execution, excess infrastructure and logistics of the project are considered (IPSEE, 2022). Melbourne Metro constructively invested a huge amount of money in the development of transport infrastructure (Authority, 2018). It is the success criteria of Melbourne Metro in the execution phase. However, the project was unable to measure the ground movement which ultimately acted as a risk factor. 

Controlling 

Controlling the project means measuring the scope and monitoring the schedule. The steps also include understanding the budget plan and monitoring the risk. Understanding the scope of Melbourne Metro, it was investigated that this project faced a profit of up to a profit of $29 million. Explicitly metropolitan is one of the scopes of Melbourne Metro (Coenen et al., 2020). It was also measured that this project needs a value of $11 billion initially.  However, a $2.7 billion budget was needed to build the tunnel to the metro. Melbourne Metro investigated a power failure that occurred at the control centre (Ma et al. 2018). It was one of the causes that disrupted the transportation of passengers. The Melbourne Metro was portrayed as a sustainable project and faced success in controlling the process. 

Closing 

Closing the project indicates the successful execution of Melbourne Metro. This stage included the implementation of every strategy by the organisation and evaluates the process of the project (Larsson and Larsson, 2020). The stage was also in corporate releasing the resources and closing of contracts. The project was expected to be completed by the year of late 2025 (Blomkamp and Lewis, 2019). The success will be the proper competition of the project. However, focusing on the revenue will be a risk factor or a failure factor that may act as a threat to the project.
Integration of the ethical considerations into each of these steps 

Ethical consideration of the steps induced in a project plan is essential to reflect its authenticity. The ethical considerations at the Initiation phase comprise the maintenance of the standard concerning construction. Care was vested in implementing and including the stakeholders in the planning of the project. There was concern concerning the construction of Melbourne Metro. Melbourne focuses on the continuous reformation of public transport (Currie and Fournier, 2021). This was addressed with fair judgements of trade at the Planning stage. The safety of the employees as well as the public was ensured. The execution phase had been done with the utmost examination of the tools and equipment used. The health and safety standards of the employees were maintained. Ethical considerations of the Controlling phase included honesty and clarity being maintained about the budget plan. The ethical consideration at the Closing Phase was the closing of the contracts ensuring that the expectations of the clients were met.

Discussion on How Ethical Considerations May Impact The Success or Failure of Project 

Ethical implementation constructively helps to focus on accountability and the conflict of interest in a project. It is the responsibility of the project manager to deal with the contributions of stakeholders. The workplace culture is also one of the ethical practices that bring respectful and inclusive service throughout the project. Melbourne Metro is expected to grow due to high service expectations from the public (Gharehbaghi, Farnes and Paterno, 2020). Establishing a proper code of conduct helps to gain a valuable impact on the project. Melbourne Metro also focuses on sharing the corporate responsibility and sustainability approach that brings the success of the project. It is also important to create harmony and professionalism to execute a project successfully. Responsibility, values, and a professional code of conduct are the fundamental components of the success of a project. Unable to maintain the code of ethical practices and safety concerns may bring failure to a project. In this regard, a project needs to concentrate on the maintenance of ethical codes. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, it can be said that a project needs to focus on different steps for successful accomplishment. Melbourne Metro started the game-changing project with a proper objective. The main objective of the companies is to provide a high-quality surface for public transport. The report effectively focuses on the success and pitfalls of this project. Besides that, It also focuses on the development of the IPECC stages of the project.  The project simultaneously deals with the integration of ethical considerations in each of the work breakdown stages. Further the project ended up with the impact of ethical consideration and Recommendation.

Recommendation 

There are some recommendations which may ensure the betterment of the performance of the project of Melbourne metro. Such recommendations are as follows.

● First, having a proper plan is very crucial according to which the entire implementation of the project practices will be performed. A proper plan needs to be made that will include the overall idea and design of the project and every activity which will be undertaken. It will help in conducting operations smoothly.

● Establishing open and transparent communication is very crucial which will enhance the quality of the performance regarding the project. Communication is a crucial way of sharing information, instructions, and so on. Fostering transparent and clear communication will help the team members and the manager to cooperate and resolve any kind of issues if it occurs. 

● Besides this, an adaptation of advanced technology and focus on skill development of the team will also help in enhancing the quality of the operations of the project as well. 

References 

Authority, M.M.R., 2018. Tunnel and stations, publicprivate partnership: Project summary. Available at, Metro Tunnel PPP Project Summary - 21 February 2018.pdf (dtf.vic.gov.au) [Accessed on 30.11.2022].

Blomkamp, E. and Lewis, J.M., (2019). Marvellous Melbourne. The Copenhagen metropolitan'fingerplan'. Available at: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/23594/9780198843719.pdf?sequence=1#page=195 

Brown, V., Barr, A., Scheurer, J., Magnus, A., Zapata-Diomedi, B. and Bentley, R., 2019. Better transport accessibility, better health: a health economic impact assessment study for Melbourne, Australia. International journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 16(1), pp.1-10. Available at, https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-019-0853-y (Accessed: November 30, 2022).

Build, V.B. 2022. Project overview, Victoria's Big Build. Victoria's Big Build. Available at: https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/metro-tunnel/about/overview  (Accessed: November 30, 2022).

Currie, G. and Fournier, N., (2021, February). Good Practice Public Transport Concessions: The Cases of London and Melbourne. International Transport Forum. Available at: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/public-transport-concessions-london-melbourne.pdf

IPSEE., (2022). Closing the Project - IPECC Summary. [online] Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/ipeccmodel/closing-the-project [Accessed 30 Nov. 2022].

Larsson, J. and Larsson, L., 2020. Integration, application and importance of collaboration in sustainable project management. Sustainability, 12(2), p.585. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/585/pdf