Peak LAN Project
Kirk Baringer
Meagan Beeman
Allison Benton
Yolanda Boyd
Thomas Guess
Project Information
•Peak Systems, located in Meridian, Louisiana
•Information Systems Consultants
•Project: City of Meridian’s social welfare agency
•Goal: to build complete Local Area Network (LAN)
•Budget $90,000 to be completed in 26 days
Project Team Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Project Team Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Project Team Risk
•Team Size
•Three people
•Team Composition
•Project Manager and two interns
•Is this enough manpower?
Budget Risk
•Established budget is $90,000
•Do not cut corners
•Cheaper Hardware
•Hardware and Software compatibility
•Hardware reliability
•Is this a realistic budget?
Timeline Risk
•Project complete in one month
•Allot of hardware
•Hardware
•Locating and purchasing
•Delivery
•Testing
•Multiple suppliers
•Is this enough time?
External Access Risk
•Security
•Wired always better
•Privacy Act information
•Wireless less secure
•Physical vs. internet based database
•Database corruption
User Account Risk
•List must be accurate
•Names, roles, and permissions
•Log on problems
•Access problems
•Earlier enough in project
Risk Assessment
•Mapping out risks can be beneficial for a
project.
•Helps prepare a team for what might occur.
•Scenario analysis is the most commonly used
technique for analyzing risks.
Risk Assessment Matrix
Risk Event
Team Size
Budget
Availability of
hardware and
software
Secure
external/wireless
access
User priorities &
authorizations can’t log on
Likelihood
Impact
Detection Difficulty
When
Very High
High
Very Low
Continuous
High
Very High
Low
Continuous
Moderate
High
Moderate
Installation
High
High
High
Installation
Low
Moderate
High
Start-up
Project Team Risk
Risk Management Matrix
Risk Event
Response
Contingency Plan
Trigger
Team size
Add personnel
Sub-contract if possible and Workload compared to
within budget
timeline
Budget
Increase budget or
downsize project
Negotiate with the City of
Meridian
At the earliest point it
becomes obvious the
budget is too small
Availability of hardware and Send bids out to several
software
suppliers
See if extras can be placed
on standby and returned if
unused
From the onset of the LAN
project if there are
shortages
Secure external/wireless
access
Set up tests to ensure this
system is working and
secure
Have alternate ways for
At the earliest point this
remote employees to access system can be tested and
the server
doesn’t work.
User priorities &
authorizations -can’t log on
Have a standby system
while transitioning to the
new LAN or work weekends
and off peak hours
Have a secondary server
system on standby and
don’t take the entire LAN
down until the new system
is running
Who is Responsible
Peak Project
Manager working with City
of Meridian
City of Meridian
And Peak project manager
Peak project manager
Peak Project manager
At the earliest point the LAN Peak Project manager
can be tested, run tests
periodically throughout the
installation to help catch
glitches.
Team Size
Risk Event
Team size
•
•
•
•
Response
Add personnel
Contingency Plan
Trigger
Sub-contract if possible and Workload compared to
within budget
timeline
Who is Responsible
Peak Project
Manager working with City
of Meridian
Add personnel if needed
Sub-contract if within budget
Use the workload compared to the timeline as the trigger
Responsibility lies with both, Peak and the City of Meridian
Team Budget
Risk Event
Budget
•
•
•
•
Response
Increase budget or
downsize project
Contingency Plan
Negotiate with the City of
Meridian
Trigger
At the earliest point it
becomes obvious the
budget is too small
Who is Responsible
City of Meridian
And Peak project manager
Increase the budget if possible or downsize the scope
Negotiate the budget with the city of Meridian
When it becomes obvious the budget is too small - trigger
Responsibility lies with both, Peak and the City of Meridian
Availability of SW & HW
Risk Event
Response
Availability of hardware and Send bids out to several
software
suppliers
•
•
•
•
Contingency Plan
See if extras can be placed
on standby and returned if
unused
Trigger
From the onset of the LAN
project if there are
shortages
Who is Responsible
Peak project manager
Send our multiple bids to suppliers of needed SW & HW
Research whether extras can be ordered and held/returned
If there are shortages this is an immediate trigger
The Peak project manager is solely responsible for this
Secure external/internal access
Risk Event
Secure external/wireless
access
•
•
•
•
Response
Set up tests to ensure this
system is working and
secure
Contingency Plan
Trigger
Have alternate ways for
At the earliest point this
remote employees to access system can be tested and
the server
doesn’t work.
Who is Responsible
Peak Project manager
Frequently test to ensure the system is working and secure
Establish alternate ways for remote employees to access
Earliest point system is tested and fails - trigger
Responsibility lies with Peak project manager
Priorities: Authorizations/user log on
Risk Event
Response
User priorities &
authorizations -can’t log on
Have a standby system
while transitioning to the
new LAN or work weekends
and off peak hours
Contingency Plan
Have a secondary server
system on standby and
don’t take the entire LAN
down until the new system
is running
Trigger
Who is Responsible
At the earliest point the LAN Peak Project manager
can be tested, run tests
periodically throughout the
installation to help catch
glitches.
• Stand-by system while transitioning to new LAN
• Work weekends and during non-peak hours to test
• Establish secondary server for temporary back-up
• Test LAN early and often; if it fails - trigger
• Responsibility lies with Peak project manager
Performing Monte Carlo Simulation
• A Monte Carlo simulation helps predict risk by
using data to predict trends
• Performing a risk analysis will assist both PEAK
and the City of Meridian in determining if the
LAN project can be completed on time and
within budget
• Having statistical data will allow the project
manager to make sound decisions
Benefits of Monte Carlo Simulation
• Allows for testing of theories before launching the
LAN project
• Provides statistical validity to the City by measuring
probability that the project will meet its stated
goals
• Reveals trends that can be modified to decrease
risk
• Assists the project manager in communicating ways
that the project can be restructured for enhanced
quality, efficiency and cost
Steps to Perform
• Define the problem to be solved
• Can project be completed on time and
within budget?
• Define the drivers/variables of the
problem
• What might some of the delays and
hidden costs be?
Steps Cont.
• Define the uncertainty for the variables
• Assign best, most likely and worst case
estimates to the identified variables
• Analyze the model using simulation
• Create a model that will compute the
assigned formulas to create estimates
•End