Key Issues to be considered

HTB is a bank that is based out of the United Kingdom and operates globally. There are currently over 45,000 staff members engaged with the bank. The investment banking operations of the bank are carried out in UK, USA, Europe, and Hong Kong. The bank carries out retail operations and activities in other parts of Europe. The organization is financially secure; however, the operating costs of the bank are under scrutiny. The bank has been subjected to several changes since the financial crisis that came up in 2008. There are strategic changes that are being carried out in the bank to provide enhanced services to the customer to attain improved customer engagement and satisfaction.

Key Issues to be considered 

The strategic change programme that will be carried out by the company will involve various activities, such as diversification, enhancement of market shares, and lowering down of the operational costs. The bank has acquired a large retail branch network from TTLB, a large retail bank based out in the UK. It is necessary to make sure that the regulatory and legal compliance is maintained and the acquisition is made as per Banking Authority Regulations & Oversight. The integration of the components as resources, their capabilities, and core competencies shall be adequately done to make sure that the strategic changes are correctly implemented. Shared Service Centre (SSC) was set up in the bank and the project experienced several issues in terms of budget and schedule overrun, inadequate change handling, and poor implementation.

The central services associated with the new acquisition will be merged with SSC (Shaw, 2015). In order to handle the costs, the Chief Financial Officer has proposed to relocate the shared services to Far East. Such a move may bring up the migration and security issues. There may also be enhanced dissatisfaction among the employees with restricting and relocating of the members of the staff. The potential loss of jobs and job rotation may be an issue. The introduction of the agile practices by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) did not work in the initial attempts due to the limited contribution by the system users.

The development processes and activities were also poorly managed. Outsourcing of the key project deliveries is proposed by the CIO; however, the use of fixed price contracts is an issue that may come up. The scope is not adequately defined and in such cases, the use of fixed price contracts may not be the best idea. The step of moving to new Headquarters in London may also be exposed to several issues as there may be issue of unwanted and unexpected delays that may come up. The involvement of fixed price contracts is an issue in this step. The handling and management of the transitions and business changes is one of the most significant issues that the bank will be required to manage.

Assessment & Management of the Proposal 

There is a defined approach that shall be followed to assess and manage the proposed strategic changes and recommendations.

The use of a phased approach for managing the changes along with the use of an adequate project management strategy shall be used to assess and manage the proposal. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) methodology for handling the project activities and the associated changes shall be used. The methodology will provide the mechanisms to estimate the schedule and costs associated with the implementation of the elements in the proposal.

The issues around the fixed price contracts and procurement issues shall also be handled using the PMBoK methodology (Parry et al., 2013). The changes shall be handled by starting with the initiation step by defining the changes and analysing the impacts of the changes. The schedule and budget around the changes shall be planned and the execution of the changes shall be carried out. The monitoring and control of the changes shall be done by using review and inspection processes followed by the closure of the changes.

The use of this methodology will make sure that the various areas of the strategic changes, such as schedule, budget, procurement, risks, resources, stakeholders, and changes will be integrated and managed with each other (Zwikael, 2009).

Programme & Scope Deliverables 

There is currently 3,500 staff members engaged with the IT organization associated with the bank. The integration of the IT systems for TTLB will also be done by these resources. There have been scenarios of poor performance in the past along with the issues of schedule and budget overrun. The CIO has decided to outsource the project delivery to the external IT consultancy called CCC. It will be necessary to determine the scope and requirements of IT outsourcing process before carrying out the activities with CCC.

The key scope deliverables for the outsourcing process are as listed below:

• Project Plan: The document shall cover the details of the project in terms of the outsourcing details, requirements, schedule, budget, associated risks, and similar details regarding the project (Pinto, 2013).
• Service Level Agreement: CCC is an external IT consultancy and the terms of service shall be legally documented. The document shall include the services to be provided by CCC and the ones to be done by the bank. The details on the expenditure, resources, technical environment, and maintenance shall also be included in the document.
• Contractual Agreement: The current contract type that is followed and used by the bank is fixed price contracts. However, there are other contractual terms and types, such as cost plus contracts and incentive contracts that may also be used (Gomes, 2013).
• Change Report: There may be certain changes that may be needed in the terms and service agreed upon. The details of such changes and the change requests shall be included as one of the deliverables.
• Review Report: The review comments and details shall be included in the deliverable and the reviews shall be done by the senior officials of the bank and the representatives of the CCC.
• Closure Report: The details of the changes implemented shall be documented in a formal report and the details of the performance shall also be included in the report.

Estimating of Programme, Resources & Schedule 

The estimating of the schedule is done as per the bottom-up estimation technique. According to this technique, the activities at the lowermost level are estimated first followed by the activities at the levels above. The use of the estimation technique ensures that the project tasks are provided with the duration as per the requirement.

The proposed distribution of the resources as per the project tasks and activities is as shown in the table below.

Key Milestones 

Risk Management Strategy 

There may be several risks that may come up during the lifecycle of the implementation of the proposed changes.

The risk management strategy that shall be followed to handle the changes shall make use of certain steps. The identification of the risks shall be done in the first step. The varied sources of data shall be used, such as HTB, employees of the bank, CCC, and other stakeholders.

The information shall be gathered to prepare the list of the risks. The identified set of risks shall then be analysed. The analysis shall provide the probability and impact scores for each risk. The evaluation and prioritization of the risks shall be done to determine the treatment strategy for each of the risks identified and analysed. The risk treatment strategy shall include the mitigation, avoidance, acceptance, sharing, or transfer of the risks. The risks shall also be monitored and controlled followed by the closure (Dey and Kinch, 2008).

The use of the above approach will ensure that the risks are adequately handled and managed.

Key Risks & Issues 

The strategic change programme that will be carried out by the company will involve various activities, such as diversification, enhancement of market shares, and lowering down of the operational costs.

Retail Expansion

The bank has procured a huge retail branch arrange from TTLB, a substantial retail bank based out in the UK. It is important to ensure that the administrative and lawful consistence is kept up and the securing is made according to Banking Authority Regulations and Oversight. The incorporation of the parts as assets, their capacities, and centre capabilities will be enough done to ensure that the key changes are effectively actualized (Reiss, Rayner and Macnicol, 2013).

Shared Service Centre

Shared Service Centre (SSC) was set up in the bank and the undertaking encountered a few issues as far as spending plan and calendar overwhelm, insufficient change taking care of, and poor usage. The focal services related with the new procurement will be converged with SSC. With the end goal to deal with the costs, the Chief Financial Officer has proposed to move the shared services to Far East. Such a move may raise the relocation and security issues. There may likewise be upgraded disappointment among the workers with limiting and migrating of the individuals from the staff. The potential loss of employments and occupation turn might be an issue (Bannazadeh, Zomorodian and Maghareh, 2013).

IT Outsourcing

The presentation of the deft practices by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) did not work in the underlying endeavor because of the constrained commitment by the framework clients. The improvement procedures and exercises were likewise inadequately overseen. Re-appropriating of the key venture conveyances is proposed by the CIO; be that as it may, the utilization of settled value contracts is an issue that may come up. The degree isn’t sufficiently characterized and in such cases, the utilization of settled value contracts may not be the best thought.

New Headquarters & Programme Overview

The progression of moving to new Headquarters in London may likewise be presented to a few issues as there might be issue of undesirable and surprising defers that may come up. The association of settled value contracts is an issue in this progression. The taking care of and administration of the advances and business changes is a standout amongst the most huge issues that the bank will be required to oversee.

Proposed Mitigation Steps 

There shall be regulatory reviews and compliance analysis that shall be done during the entire process of retail expansion. The bank may also involve external regulatory analysts and legal advisors to provide information on the key strategies to follow.

The relocation of SSC and migration of the data sets will be exposed security risks and attacks. It shall be made sure that the migration is done in a phase by phase manner. The information and data sets shall be protected using the authentication and access control mechanisms. The encrypted data sets shall be migrated so that the issues of data breach and data loss may be avoided. The use of anti-malware and anti-denial tools shall also be done to mitigate the risks (Lindholm, 2015). The use of automated data analysis tools shall be done so that the risk patterns and trends are identified and determined in advance.

The outsourcing and refurbishment of the building will involve the use of contracts. The fixed price contracts shall be replaced with the cost plus and incentive contracts so that the changes in the scope do not have a negative implication on the end-results. It will also make sure that the scalable approach is involved.

Organizational Structure & Key Stakeholders

The organizational structure that is currently implemented in the organization is the matrix structure. The employees of the organization have dual reporting structure followed and it is an amalgamation of more than two types of organizational structures. Functional and divisional structures are combined and reflected in the same.  

Key Stakeholder Issues 

There will be various stakeholders that will be involved with the process. The stakeholders may have their own set of issue. Some of the internal and external stakeholders involved with the project will be HTB, business partners, customers, CCC, employees of HTB, regulatory & legal bodies, and supplier groups (Missonier and Loufrani-Fedida, 2014).

The stakeholders may face issues in terms of communication of the information sets, involvement with the process, contribution to the project, and the varying levels of interests.

The stakeholder assessment is done in the table below.

Communication will be the key approach that will be used for handling the stakeholder issues. The internal and external stakeholders shall be communicated using the defined communication plan and strategy. The stakeholders shall be provided with the updates regarding the change being implemented. They shall be provided with the updates and reports regarding changes being carried out. The use of effective communication practices will make sure that the stakeholders are kept involved and the associated issues are resolved.

Programme Control Approach 

The utilization of a staged methodology for dealing with the changes alongside the utilization of a sufficient project management system will be utilized to evaluate and deal with the proposition. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) philosophy for dealing with the project exercises and the related changes will be utilized. The procedure will give the components to appraise the timetable and expenses related with the execution of the components in the proposition. The issues around the settled value contracts and obtainment issues will likewise be taken care of utilizing the PMBoK procedure.

The changes will be taken care of by beginning with the inception venture by characterizing the changes and investigating the effects of the changes. The calendar and spending plan around the changes will be arranged and the execution of the changes will be completed. The observing and control of the changes will be finished by utilizing audit and review forms pursued by the conclusion of the changes (Gareis and Huemann, 2008). The utilization of this philosophy will ensure that the different territories of the vital changes, for example, plan, spending plan, acquisition, dangers, assets, partners, and changes will be coordinated and dealt with one another.

Options for Contracting Outsourcing & Off-shoring Projects

Currently, fixed price contracts are used in the projects. The recommended options for contracting outsourcing and off-shoring the projects shall go beyond the fixed price contracts.

Risk Management Strategy

There are cost plus and incentive contracts that shall be used in the place of fixed price contracts. The cost plus contracts state that the purchaser will agree to pay the cost of labour along with the material needed to refurbish the HQ building. The contract will also include a specific amount for contractor overhead along with the profit. The profit is calculated as a percentage of the labour and material costs. There may be various forms of contracts that may be included under this type, such as combination of cost & fixed percentage contract or cost and fixed with bonus contract, and likewise.

Another form of contract that may be used is the incentive contract. In these contracts, the agreements and contract is based upon the two categories of the contracts as fixed price and cost reimbursement contract. The performance is made on the basis of the target costs and schedule.

The use of the above contract types will make sure that the contractual process is flexible yet fixed and the changes are incorporated in the contract with much ease.

Conclusion 

Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) methodology for handling the project activities and the associated changes shall be used. The methodology will provide the mechanisms to estimate the schedule and costs associated with the implementation of the elements in the proposal. The risk management strategy that shall be followed to handle the changes shall make use of certain steps.

The identification of the risks shall be done in the first step followed by analysis, evaluation, prioritization, treatment, control, and closure of the risks. The fixed price contracts shall be replaced with the cost plus and incentive contracts so that the changes in the scope do not have a negative implication on the end-results. It will also make sure that the scalable approach is involved. Some of the internal and external stakeholders involved with the project will be HTB, business partners, customers, CCC, employees of HTB, regulatory & legal bodies, and supplier groups. The stakeholders shall be kept involved with the use of effective communication practices.

Part B 

Two Project Management Frameworks 

There are different methodologies that may be used for managing the project and programme. The first methodology that may be used is Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK). It is the methodology in which the project tasks and activities will be managed using a defined set of phases as initiation, planning, execution, control, and closure. The methodology is defined by Project Management Institute (PMI). It will offer several advantages to the project. The Project Manager is the primary resource responsible for managing the project tasks and activities. The manager will make sure that effective control and monitoring is carried out.

There are different areas that are covered by this methodology, such as schedule, budget, risks, resources, procurement, stakeholders, quality, control, etc. that will be integrated with each other (Rose, 2013). The integration of these elements will make sure that the project outcomes are achieved and the chances of failure and occurrence of loopholes are avoided. There are a few disadvantages that are also associated with the methodology. For instance, it does not include the scope for too many changes to be implemented and there may also be issues of standardization that may be witnessed.

The other methodology that is recommended is agile methodology for project management. The methodology is ad-hoc and adaptive in nature and will make sure that the project activities are effectively carried out. The management will be done in a series of iterations and there will be short term goals that will be defined for the project. There will be various advantages that will be offered by the methodology to the project.

The changes during the project timeline will be easily managed using the guidelines defined under this methodology. The customers will also be kept involved during the entire lifecycle and will be asked for the feedback. The continuous improvement to the project tasks and activities will be made for effective management. There may also be a few disadvantages to the project as there will be too much reliance on the skills and competencies of the team members (Juricek, 2014).

Recommended Framework & Justification

The framework recommended for the project is agile methodology for project management. The methodology is recommended because there are strategic changes that have been proposed and there are chances of the occurrence of further changes that may come up. The changes will be handled and managed using the agile frame work for project management. The involvement of the customers and all the other project stakeholders will also make sure that the project is adequately carried out and the expectations of each of the stakeholders are targeted. This will lead to the enhancement of stakeholder engagement and satisfaction levels. The use of ad-hoc approach will ensure that all the processes are flexible and scalable in nature. The scalability of the operations will make sure that the project tasks and activities are scaled up and down as per the need.

References

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Dey, P. and Kinch, J. (2008). Risk management in information technology projects. International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, 9(3), p.311.

Gareis, R. and Huemann, M. (2008). Change management and projects. International Journal of Project Management, 26(8), pp.771-772.

Gomes, R. (2013). Contributions of the PMBok to the Project Management of an ERP System Implementation. Revista de Gestão e Projetos, 04(02), pp.153-162.

Juricek, J. (2014). Agile Project Management Principles. Lecture Notes on Software Engineering, pp.172-175.

Lindholm, C. (2015). Involving user perspective in a software risk management process. Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, 27(12), pp.953-975.

Missonier, S. and Loufrani-Fedida, S. (2014). Stakeholder analysis and engagement in projects: From stakeholder relational perspective to stakeholder relational ontology. International Journal of Project Management, 32(7), pp.1108-1122.

Parry, W., Kirsch, C., Carey, P. and Shaw, D. (2013). Empirical Development of a Model of Performance Drivers in Organizational Change Projects. Journal of Change Management, 14(1), pp.99-125.

Pinto, J. (2013). Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Reiss, G., Rayner, P. and Macnicol, D. (2013). Portfolio and Programme Management Demystified: Managing Multiple Projects Successfully. London: Routledge.

Rose, K. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)-Fifth Edition. Project Management Journal, 44(3), pp.e1-e1.

Shaw, D. (2015). Managing dualities in organizational change projects. Journal of Change Management, 16(3), pp.201-222.

Zwikael, O. (2009). The Relative Importance of the PMBOK® Guide’s Nine Knowledge Areas during Project Planning. Project Management Journal, 40(4), pp.94-103.