Project Management in an International Environment

Project Management in an International Environment
Step 1: Become Familiar with Project Scope
A few hours after your call with Latoya Green, you receive an email from her executive assistant that defines the high-level deliverables and timelines for this project in a project statement of work (SOW).
INBOX: 1 New Message
Subject: Deliverables and Timeline for Store Opening
From: Cassandra Seltzer, Executive Assistant, TCS, Inc.
To: You
Greetings,
You will need to know the high-level deliverables and timelines for this project, which can be found in the project statement of work (SOW).
The SOW for this project lists the following requirements:
• design the new store building, garage, parking lots, and landscaping
• obtain required licenses and permits
• prepare the site and lay the foundation
• construct the new store building and finish the interior
• construct the garage and garden center
• outfit the store with shelves, fixtures, and IT systems (e.g., communications and payment systems)
• pave the parking lots and landscape the exterior of the store
• stock the store with inventory (For this project, stick to a storewide, high-level inventory budget, though you may have to make estimates based on different product categories, such as lumber, hardware, appliances, etc.)
• staff, hire, and train store personnel
The SOW specifically notes that your project scope does not include the following:
• marketing or publicity
• other actions and costs related to operation of the new store
This project will require that you and your team create the following deliverables within the time frames described in this project, using standard templates provided in subsequent steps by TCS management. These steps will ensure that the new store is fully operational by the target date. Those deliverables, described in detail later, include the following:
• a project charter
• a stakeholder management plan
• a high-level work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project
• a risk register that identifies 5–10 key project risks and the team’s proposed responses for handling such risks
• a Gantt chart showing key project activities and the project’s critical path
• a high-level project cost estimate, with supporting justifications, for the labor, materials, and overhead for the new facility to be ready for operation by the assigned target date
• a project management plan
Thank you for your attention. Our group will be in touch.
Project Management in an International Environment
Step 6: Create the Risk Register
Risk is a factor in every project. Each stakeholder and each element in your work breakdown structure, especially along the critical path, introduces risk. Identifying and managing these risks is critical to ensuring project success. Read more in Project Risk and Risk Register.
In this step, your team will develop a project risk register using the provided risk register template. The risk register must include at least 10 project risks, both internal and external, as well as the projected response or responses to those risks. Keep in mind that you are conducting a project in a foreign country, Brazil, which itself will add some risk because the official language in Sao Paulo, Brazil is Portugese.
When you have completed your risk register and identified at least 10 project risks, continue to the next step, where you will develop a project cost estimate.