Proposal: Brazil Hospitality Group
“Let’s build a smarter planet”
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP.
600 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
IBM HAMILTON SQUARE
12/3/13
WRITTEN BY: GROUP B
GREGORY GREBEN
SAM HENIG
RYAN HOLLAND
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Company Background .................................................................................................................... 2
PROJECT BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................... 2
SCOPE OF WORK .............................................................................................................................. 3
PLACE OF PERFORMANCE................................................................................................................. 3
SCHEDULE/MILESTONES .................................................................................................................. 3
NETWORK PLAN ......................................................................................................................... 4
RESOURCES/ CONSTRAINTS .................................................................................................... 5
RISK MANAGEMENT.................................................................................................................. 6
Project Management Analysis ........................................................................................................ 8
1
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
Company Background
As the world’s largest IT and consulting organization, with close to $100 billion in
revenue and 400,000 employees working in more than 170 countries, IBM operates with the
same scale and complexity as many governmental organizations. On a journey to become
smarter this past decade, IBM has standardized processes, consolidated support functions,
leveraged technology, and applied analytics to transform the company into a globally integrated
enterprise, creating billions of dollars in savings, enhancing cross-organization collaboration, and
reducing their carbon footprint.
IBM believes that a company culture based on core values not only helps the business,
but also defines the role that the company can and should play in society. IBMers have three core
values:
 Dedication to every client’s success
 Innovation that matter – for our company and for the world
 Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
Technology is critical to business operations, and it’s the driving force behind innovation
and transformation. IBM Public Sector Consulting offers superior strategy, transformation, and
advanced analytical consulting capabilities across an entire range of services. IBM offers more
comprehensive, integrated, and outcome driven solutions to help organizations achieve business
goals.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
For the past few years, IBMers have been working closely with companies, cities and
communities around the world to build a Smarter Planet. Opening new branches across Brazil
has allowed the company to extend its push into emerging markets and increases its support for
clients worldwide. According to IBM analysts, “Brazil is currently one of the best-performing
global IT markets in the world with further strong growth expected through investments related
to the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics which are both taking place in
Brazil.” IBM’s investment in Brazil covers the opening of new branches and facilities,
recruitment of new staff and training, marketing campaigns, and increases its support for clients
and partners.
A team of IBM’s smarter commerce consultants from the Application Innovation
Services (AIS) sector is working with a new client, Brazil Hospitality Group (BHG). In
preparation of the FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics, IBM is working with BHG to
develop new hotel management software that will help better manage the property and maximize
2
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
revenue. BHG is currently using GuestPoint, the comprehensive hotel management solution
software for small to mid-sized properties.
SCOPE OF WORK
The scope of work for IBM’s project with Brazil Hospitality Group includes all planning,
execution, implementation, and training for the new hotel management software. BHG will work
closely with IBM during each stage of the project. The project and all training must be
completed before June 12th, which is the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. IBM must ensure it
has adequate resources for designing, building, testing, and implementing the new hotel
management software and provides the staff to train the employees of BHG.
PLACE OF PERFORMANCE
In 2012 IBM opened new offices and facilities in the cities of Joinville, Sao Luis, and Rio
de Janeiro engaging in high-growth cities and regions outside of the major urban centers of
Brazil. Most of the software development will be completed at the IBM offices located in Rio de
Janeiro. The new IBM facility will provide the workspace necessary for the AIS team of
consultants to develop the software.
SCHEDULE/MILESTONES
It is imperative that all deliverables and milestones for this project are recorded and easy for
BHG management to obtain. Schedule information must be as accurate as possible since the
project is restrained by time. The list below consists of the initial milestones:
1. December:
12/10 - Evaluations and Consultation completed
2. February:
2/4 - Development phase completed
2/11 - Contract and Details formulation completed
3. March:
3/ 18 – Pre-alpha phase completed
4. April:
4/1 – Alpha phase completed
4/15 – Beta phase completed
3
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
4/ 22 – Software release date
5. May:
5/20 – Testing phase complete
6. June:
6/1 – Employee training completed
NETWORK PLAN
In practice, the activity-on-node (AON) method has come to dominant most projects. The
illustration below displays IBM’s AON for the BHG project. An activity is represented by a
node (box). Arrows between the boxes on the AON network depict the dependencies among
activities.
Illustration 1: Activity-on-Node (AON)
Activities often have identification numbers and descriptions. The AON also shows all
the forward and backward passes for each activity. This will allow IBM’s managers to determine
early/late start, early/ late finish, and slack times. Having the project network with activity time
4
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
estimates links planning, scheduling, and controlling of projects. The project is expected to start
on December 3, 2013 and end on June 1th, 2013 (24 weeks long).
Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Proceeding
Activity
Description
Evaluation and
Consultation
Development Phase
Contract and Details
formulation
Pre Alpha Stage
Alpha Stage
Beta Phase
Software Release
Testing
Employee Training
Activity Time (Weeks)
A
1
8
B
B
D
C, E
F
F
G, H
1
5
2
2
1
4
2
Illustration 2
RESOURCES/ CONSTRAINTS
For this project we have been allocated two different resources: Programmers and
Trainers. Our project starts with evaluation and consultation for the first week. This task
requires the one trainer resource we have. Once this is completed the development phase begins,
requiring the programmer resource for eight weeks. Following this task the contract formulation
and pre alpha phase can both begin. Because each of these tasks requires different types of
resources they are able to start simultaneously. The contract formulation requires the trainer
resource for one week, and the pre alpha phase requires the programmer resource for five weeks.
Following the pre alpha phase is the alpha phase; which requires the programmer resource for
two weeks. Once the alpha phase and the contract formulation have both been completed the
beta phase is able to begin. This also requires the programmer resource for two weeks. Once the
beta phase is completed both the testing and software release task are able to begin. Once again
because each of these tasks requires different types of resources they are able to start
simultaneously. The software release requires the trainer resource for one week, and the testing
requires the programmer resource for four weeks. Once the testing is completed the final part of
the project, employee training, can begin. This requires the trainer resource for two weeks.
Below is an illustration of resource scheduling. It shows what weeks the Trainer resource and
Programmer resource will be in use.
5
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Trainer
A
C
G
I
I
Programmer
B B B B B B B B D D D D D E E F F H H H H
Illustration 3
The total length of the project is 24 weeks. The project is time-constrained and must be
complete before the start of the FIFA World Cup. If required, the resource schedule can be
adjusted during the project in order to complete by the specific dat. The critical path of the
project goes in order as follows: Evaluation and consultation, development phase, pre alpha
phase, alpha phase, beta phase, testing, and then the employee training.
Illustration 4
RISK MANAGEMENT
With any project, there is always a chance that something could go wrong or not
according to plan which might inhibit the progress of the project. To prepare for this situation,
we create a risk response matrix. This matrix states the risk event, the appropriate response, the
contingency plan incase the event occurs, the trigger of that event, and who is responsible for the
risk. For this project, and providing Brazil Hotel Group with a new operating system for the
upcoming World Cup, there were nine risk events that our company established as important
enough for include in the matrix. The first risk we decided upon was ordering the wrong parts.
If this event were to occur, the response of IBM would be to retain, or accept that the risk would
occur. The contingency plan however, would be to order the correct parts with overnight
shipping and this event would be triggered when the shipment is received. Finally, we decided
that the Supply Chain Manager and PMO were responsible if this event were to occur. Please
refer to the illustration below for more details.
6
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
Illustration 5
The second risk we established is if the project deadline gets tightened. If this were to occur, we
decided to transfer the risk. This means that our contingency plan transfers the problem to
Project Manager and requires that they add more resources to allow the project to be completed
in the allotted timeframe. The third risk is if there are insufficient funds available to complete
the project. For this event, we also decided to transfer the risk to the Project Manager where they
would work with BHG top management on funding. The fourth risk is developing the wrong
software, functions, or properties. For this risk event, we decided to mitigate and double-check
the requirements of software with the development team and management. The fifth risk is the
fact that there might be inadequate knowledge of the system from employees. In this situation,
we decided to retain and hold staff meetings with refurbished training tutorial packages. Holding
these meetings would fall upon the Training Staff. The sixth risk is if the customer changes their
mind about certain parts of software. Since this is really unavoidable, we decided to retain and
to meet with the client to develop requested changes if it were to occur. The seventh risk is a
breach of security. If this were to occur, we decided to mitigate and the top-level management
7
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
would terminate the violator immediately and have employees review the company's
nondisclosure policy. The eighth risk decided is if BHG has unsupportable hardware. In this
case, we would be unable to use the hardware provided and must be avoided. All levels must
ensure hardware is supportable before beginning project. Finally, the ninth risk is if there is a
high turnover rate for the staff that was just trained. If this were to occur, we would mitigate and
have the training staff develop a training package with long-term employee benefits in an attempt
to have a higher employee retention rate. All of these risks were decided based on the projects
sequence and the factors involved in the completion. In the matrix, a rating was determined for
how likely the event was to occur, 1 being least likely, and 5 being most likely. Judging by the
likelihood of occurrence and responses to the risks, IBM is able to use this risk response matrix
to deal with the different issues the company might face in the progression of providing the
Brazil Hotel Group with a new operating system.
Project Management Analysis
If your organization is looking for “unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge and
resources, experienced practitioners, innovative application of proven technology, and effective,
cost saving solutions” (IBM Gov. 2013), then IBM Public Sector Consulting is here to help.
IBM’s team of consultants will achieve success through collaboration, creative leadership,
operational excellence, and the ability to manage through change. After analyzing the Net Work
Plan, Risk Management Plan, and resources/ constraints, our team of consultants believe they
can plan, execute, implement, and train employees for the new hotel management software
before the desired date. IBM has opened new branches across Brazil with in the last couple of
years, which has allowed the company to extend its push into emerging markets and increases its
support for clients worldwide. If BHG is delighted with IBM’s work after the project, perhaps
both companies could work together in the future. Traditional approaches force organizations to
respond to changes as they happen, and to act on intuition instead of facts, which often leads to
improper, underprepared, or budget-breaking actions. With the help of advanced analytics, IBM
is now able to predict outcomes and take action based on real-time information, seeing problems
and responding to them before they happen.
8
IBM Proposal: BHG ver.1
ACCEPTANCE
Approved by:
__________________________________________
<Approvers Name>
<Approvers Title>
Bibliography
1.
Government. (n.d.). IBM solutions.
Retrieved December 10, 2013, from
http://www935.ibm.com/industries/government/
9
Date: ___________________