Project Charter Initial Analysis Provided
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Please develop a Project Charter based on the initial analysis provided. Use the template that is provided following the case study as a basis for your work. If the case study does not provide enough information for a particular section, you may "embellish" the case study with additional information sufficient to allow you to complete a full Charter.
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Project Charter - Web Site Enhancement Project
Case Study Overview
Company Background
Early in 1999, hotel managers Simon Andrews and Sybil Jones decided to leave one of the Europe"s largest hotel chains and create their own new chain. With funding from personal investments and venture capitalists, they opened 3-R Hotels (Rest, Relax, & Recreate) in the spring of 2000. They currently operate 14 hotels in 5 countries, each with 100 rooms and approximately 300 staff. The mission of the chain is to differentiate themselves from other lodgings that simply offer a bed: they want to provide an experience to their guests, including elegant meals, relaxing living quarters, and extensive recreational options such as golf, tennis, spas, gyms, night clubs, and excursions to local towns and areas of interest.
At the present time, each of the 14 hotels employs separate management staff, including positions of Hotel Manager, Assistant Manager, and four Directors: Operations & Finance, Guest Services, Restaurants, and Reservations. Centralized positions providing direction and support to all 3-R Hotels include a 5-person Marketing Team led by Vice President Fred Stafford, a 12-person Technology Team led by Vice President Sarah Hawking, and a 3-person Travel & Tourism Team led by Vice President Monica Duval.
All 3-R Hotels use two centralized systems: a Reservation System and a Guest-Services System. The Reservation System: tracks guest reservations accepted up to two years in advance; interfaces with the Guest-Services System to determine non-lodging costs; produces guest bills; processes guest payments. The Guest-Services System: tracks current rates for services within the hotels; manages the schedules for the services including availability; interfaces with the Reservations System to validate guests and to provide billing totals due to Services. Note that for tracking and billing purposes, restaurant and bar charges are tracked within the Guest-Services System.
The centralized Technology team's responsibilities include maintaining the Reservation System, the Guest-Services System, and the 3-R web site. The web site currently displays the names and locations of the hotels. Graphics depicting photographs of sample rooms and restaurants are available, along with brief descriptions of the locales surrounding the hotels. Reservations are not accepted on-line, however, nor can prospective guests query dates and room rates for availability.
Looking to the Web
Fred Stafford, head of the Marketing Team, and Monica Duval, head of the Travel & Tourism Team, do not feel that the site best supports 3-R's mission to provide a complete recreational experience to their guests. They have recommended to the co-presidents, Andrews and Jones, that the web site be enhanced to display more details and perhaps video of the surrounding locales, on-line queries and reservations of rooms, and on-line booking of guest services made in advance of a guest's stay. They feel that a large enhancement project to the site will best meet their strategic objectives to increase revenue by booking to capacity at peak times and by expanding peak seasons by marketing year-round points of interest.
The co-presidents are somewhat hesitant to embark on such a project, especially considering the Technology Team has minimal experience in more sophisticated web technologies. New technical resources would need to be hired to support these efforts. The co-presidents also feel that development effort on such an enhancement would detract their employees from providing top service to their guests; the hotel managers agree. Their staff members are already over-worked.
The Marketing Team, though, feels pressure from other larger chains and states that if the site is not enhanced, some of the hotels will have to be closed within two to three years as the capacity rates are declining. Their projections indicate that they have room in their marketing budget to cover approximately $900,000 in project expenditures, and they are willing to set aside other marketing endeavors to launch this project. They are hopeful that a new site can be up and running, accepting online reservations and queries within 10 months before the start of the next peak season.
Andrews and Jones decided to hire a consultant to study the current site and systems and recommend a course of action. Several friends recommended you as a person who has considerable experience with charting project direction.
Preliminary Findings
You conduct a set of preliminary discussions with Andrews and Jones to discuss the various systems and the company's strategic vision. You also meet with the heads of Marketing, Travel & Tourism, and Technology to gather their initial thoughts for the site improvements. In an informal report of preliminary findings, you recommend the launch of a project, beginning of course with the Requirements phase, to enhance the web site to:
1. accept on-line queries for room and service availability
2. accept on-line reservations of rooms and services
3. provide extensive information including virtual tours of the surrounding locales
4. investigate co-marketing opportunities with other travel & tourism vendors in the area.
Although each of these aspects could be developed independently, you recommend analyzing them together because of the significant interaction among them.
Project Charter Template
________________________________________
Project Title What is the name of the project?
Business Purpose Why is the project being done? Relate to revenue, cost, risk, service/satisfaction.
Project Description What is the project?
Description of Final Product What will be the end result of the project?
Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level Who is given authority to lead the project, and can he or she determine budget, schedule, and staffing?
Requirements What are the conditions or capabilities that must be met or possessed by the system, product, service, result, or component to satisfy a contract, standard or specification? These include the quantified and documented needs, wants, and expectations of the sponsor, customer, and other stakeholders, documented here at a high-level.
Project Deliverables What are the deliverables to be produced by the project, as well as products produced by the project's processes, such as project management reports and documentation?
Summary Milestone Schedule What are the current planned significant milestones?(milestone and target date)
Initial Budget Estimates What is the current budget estimate range?(Major expenditures and budget estimates per phase)
Constraints
What factors limit the team's options
Assumptions
What is assumed to be real or true?
Key Stakeholders and Their Roles
Signed and Approved By Who are the stakeholders who must review and approve this document in order to provide funds and resources for this project?
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Solution Summary
The expert examines project charter initial analysis provided.
Solution Preview
I cannot complete the entire assignment for you, but I can give you direction in each section to make it easier to complete.
Please see attached. Thank you for asking Brainmass.
Project Charter Template
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Project Title Website Enhancement Project
Business Purpose Why is the project being done? Relate to revenue, cost, risk, service/satisfaction. This is a project that serves both marketing and travel and tourism. It helps to market the chain as more extended in terms of offerings in surrounding external areas. Additional activities and the availability of year round offerings are one of the key issues that are to be included. The company must start meeting the higher standards of other chains and to enhance offerings. The goal is to make the chain attractive year round and to gain repeat clients. The website will help to attract new clients as well by offering virtual tours of the local activities along with the information, so people are enticed to try the chain.
A second goal is to allow for inquiries of services and for clients to make reservations online. This is a popular offering by many companies and it allows consumers the chance to take advantage of specific events when they are occurring without having to spend time on the phone with a reservationist to book a stay. They can also do it at any hour of the day or night, which is very convenient for the busy clientele the company is wanting to attract to its recreate, relax, and rest chain.
Consumers who are browsing and see a nice display such as the information and videos, might be encouraged to buy, on impulse, the trip, especially if they find something they are interested in. This can raise the number of people who book, because they can do it at their leisure or to make sure they can attend specific events. The online reservation and guest services request will also free up and help control labor costs for those needing reservations. Fewer employees, making calls and working phone lines will improve the profits and also help to expand the offerings of the company by providing more income for use.
Project Description What is the project? The project is to upgrade the current website to make reservations, guest services, information gathering, and the ...
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