Project Management Schedule for Cosmos, Inc

Develop a Project Management Cost (Budget) and Project Management Schedule for Cosmos, Inc. or
your selected business, using the Project Management Plan template.
Estimating project budgets is far from an exact science. Many of us have heard of projects running over
budget. Why is this? Why do we consistently forecast low? Reasons for this inconsistency include
everything from improper funding at the beginning of the project to taking shortcuts that should never
have been taken.
The project management schedule helps you and your project team evaluate progress and
assess whether or not the project will be completed by the deadline. It is also a way to identify
bottlenecks in the process so you can creatively reallocate resources and adjust timelines to ensure that
the project remains on time and within budget.
For this assessment, choose either Option A or Option B. You do not need to do both. Your instructor
will grade both options using the same scoring guide.
Option A: Use Cosmos, Inc. to develop a Project Cost Budget and Project Management Schedule as the
next components of your Project Management Plan. Refer to the Cosmo, Inc. Business Case Download
Cosmo, Inc. Business Case document for more information.
Option B: Use a project from your selected business to develop a Project Cost Budget and Project
Management Schedule as the next components of your Project Management Plan.
Cosmo, Inc.
Cosmo, Inc. is a leader in the development and distribution of wearable technology, including
fitness coaching, nutritional coaching, and lifestyle advising products. The company holds a 33-
percent market share in the wearable technology category. After doing marketing analysis,
senior leadership realizes the onset of competition could negatively impact future earnings.
CEO and President Harold Living tells his leadership Cosmo, Inc. needs a new marketing
strategy to not only increase market share but to maintain current levels. Based on data
analytics, Cosmo decides to incorporate technology trends into the company’s strategic
marketing, including:
• Internet of Things (IoT).
• Digital services.
• Data analytics.
• The mobile technology movement.
Living selects a task force to review Cosmo, Inc. and their competitors’ data analytic reports to
recommend a new strategy.
Customer Demographics
Demographics include but are not limited to:
• Ages 25–50.
• College educated.
• Annual income greater than $75,000.
• Residents in cities with population greater than 500,000.
• Technology savvy.
• Utilize mobile technology at work and home.
• Utilize Cloud technology at work and home.
Marketing Campaign Strategy Objectives
The campaign’s goals are as follows:
• Develop a marketing campaign strategy to increase production of wearable technology
by 25 percent.
• Increase customer base by 20 percent by identifying unknown customer segmentations
based on age, demographics, income, education, and technology.
• Utilize current technologies, including social media and data analytics, for predictive
analytics to identify known and unknown customer segments.
• Become a leading competitor in wearable technologies.
• Become a leading competitor using trending technologies, including IoT, mobile
technology, and artificial intelligence applications.
Integrate technology into current ERP and Marketing systems to create an improved
digital business of the future and to deliver and support products to improve the
customer experience and “mesh” embedded services of people, devices, and content.
• Develop and implement a new process within the Customer Service department to
establish new-product support services.
• Meet current and future neutrality regulations.
Project Specifics
Details about the project include but are not limited to:
• Timeframe: 10 weeks.
• Budget: $150,000.
• Campaign length: 6 months.
• Measurement: Performance reports to be developed in order to monitor the increase in
customers and customer satisfaction rates.
• Departments involved:
o Marketing.
o Finance.
o Information Technology.
o Customer Service.
As the project manager, you are responsible for forecasting, completing, and managing the
project’s bFor Options A and B, use the information from the prior assessment and your
Work Breakdown Schedule to complete the Project Management Cost (Budget)
component of the template:
• Develop a project cost (budget) section. Prepare a cost estimate for the project by
identifying the costs of each task and create categories to prioritize project
expenditures. Prepare a preliminary budget using the cost estimate for your
selected project.
o Note: Copy and paste the Summary Table and Comments into the Project
Management Cost (Budget) section of the template.
• Develop project management schedule section. This should identify the time
frames within which the costs will be incurred.
o Note: Link your Microsoft Project timeline that meets project duration
requirements.
Using your Work Breakdown Schedule and Microsoft Project, identify the activities you
must perform to produce the project deliverables and include the following as part of the
Project Management Schedule component of the template:
• Summarize the intent of using a project schedule for the selected project.
• Develop a Microsoft Project plan for your project schedule. Include an introduction
and link into this section of your plan. Create a Gantt chart showing:
• Resources assigned to each task. Note: Limit project tasks to 10 business days or
less. Shorter task durations make it easier to assess project progress. Provide
additional amplifying information about the schedule in your Project Plan, as
applicable.
• Predecessors to tasks.
• Project tasks, milestones, and other measurable, tangible, and verifiable outcomes
or results that must be produced to complete the project.
• Attach your updated Project Management Plan Template.
• Attach your MS Project File.
• Attach your Project Budget File.
• References: There is no set number of references required for this assessment.
Use scholarly or academic sources where applicable.
• Format:
o Use the Project Management Cost (Budget) and Project Management
Schedule components of the template provided.
o The Project Cost (Budget) and Project Management Schedule are
professional documents and should therefore follow the corresponding
MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines, including single-
spaced paragraphs.
o Use APA style and format for references and in-text citations.
• Length: Utilize the template, including the title page and reference page.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the
following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 3: Apply project management concepts to plan all aspects needed for
project completion.
o Develop a project cost-budget section.
o Create categories to prioritize project expenditures.
o Develop a project schedule section.
o Create timeline that meets project duration requirements.
• Competency 4: Communicate project management needs, opportunities, and
strategies with multiple stakeholders.
o Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with
expectations for members of the project management profession.
The following resources provide information about project cost management:
• Cârstea, C-G. (2014). IT project management – Cost, time and quality. Economy
Transdisciplinarity Cognition, 17(1), 28–34.
• PMBOK® Guide.
o Part 1: Section 7, “Project Cost Management.”
The following reading and reference provide insight into this discussion on project
schedule management:
• Heagney, J. (2016). Fundamentals of project management (5th ed.). AMACOM.
o Chapter 8, “Scheduling Project Work.”
o Chapter 9, “Producing a Workable Schedule.”
• PMBOK® Guide.
o Section 6.4, “Estimate Activity Durations,” pages 195–204.
o Part 1: Section 9, “Project Resource Management,” pages 307–358.
Project Management Schedule (Assessment 3)
Introduction (Intent):
Microsoft Project Document:
(NOTE: Please, also, attach your MS Project Schedule file as a separate document. Links
sometimes do not work.)