Part A – Module 4 Discussion activity: EEF and Tools of Impact Analysis In Assessment 2 Part A, students will use their project developed for Assessment 1:
- Identify enterprise environmental factors (EEF) of the project.
- Propose a tool, technique or framework intend to use for qualitative and/or quantitative impact analysis of EEF.
- Justify why the selected tool/technique is appropriate.
Part B – Impact Analysis Report and Individual Reflection
In Part B, students will assess and incorporate the feedback received from their peers in Module 4 discussion and submit a report on the impact analysis of EEF identified within 1500 words. The report should address the following:
- Evaluation of the internal and external factors and their impact on project management processes
- Development of strategies to implement the appropriate actions
- Drafted communication plan and outcomes to diverse stakeholders
At the end of the report, each group member is required to provide a 500-word of personal learning reflection. The reflection should cover
- What key knowledge and skills you learned through this subject?
- How will they benefit you further study and career?
- Any Good, Bad or Ugly of your total learning experience?
Part A: Module 4 Discussion Activity: EEFs and Tools of Impact Analysis
· Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) of the Project
There are many internal and external factors which can create an impact on the project management process. In the contemporary era, project management has to navigate these internal and external factors to anticipate possible consequences. The concept of enterprise environmental factor is in the limelight in contemporary project management. EEF is a bundle of internal and external factors, which can create an impact on project success. The most important thing is to identify all these factors and set the foundation for project success.
External enterprise environmental factors are government regulations, market conditions, political conditions, weather, legal restrictions, and different industry standards. On the other hand, several internal factors are organizational culture, organizational structure, internal political situation, infrastructure, and available resources (Liu, Xue, Huo, Shen, & Fu, 2019).
The project can sustain success if the project management manages to utilize all available resources effectively. The project’s success can also be ensured by adequate cultural values, as all key stakeholders have to integrate with different cultural values and norms to make the project successful. Internal political conditions always matter as stable political conditions can help contain smooth project initiation and closure. Externally, aligning with the make and stakeholder’s needs is the key to success. Sequentially, project management always aims to meet the purpose of objective, expected, or perceived by external stakeholders. By anticipating external factors’ impact, the project management will be in a better position to be consistent and fruitful (Simplilearn, 2019).
· Tool, Technique or Framework Intended
The qualitative risk analysis technique is always in the spotlight to analyze enterprise environmental factors. The qualitative risk analysis plan will help project management identify several internal and external factors and associated risks. The possible occurrence of these risks, along with the probability, must be navigated. It will facilitate the company in assessing what internal or external factor is a threat or an opportunity for the project process, as far as success is concerned. The most important thing is to use probability and impact matrix to examine the impact or consequences of internal and external factors on project management success (Well-Stam, Lindenaar, & Kinderen, 2004). The probability & impact matrix is an appropriate tool to examine different risks. For example, when it comes to market conditions, competition is a significant risk, and project management will have to analyze the increasing competition. It is one of the best ways to ensure the project’s success, as eliminating or reducing the impact of these internal and external factors can enable the smooth project process (Burke, 2013).
· Justification
The qualitative risk analysis is a kind of framework, which also includes the impact of the risk. Based on the derived insights from this framework or techniques, the project manager can shape effective risk mitigation strategies. It is all about making the strategy for both internal and external factors in reducing the visibility of a negative impact on the project’s success. Opportunities are to be embraced and risk or threats to be evaded.
Part B: Impact Analysis Report and Individual Reflection
Evaluating the internal and external factors, which can also be referred to as enterprise environmental factors (EEF), is compelling to make the project management successful. It is all about reducing the impact or risk of these internal and external factors and deriving expected outcomes. In this comprehensive report, the emphasis is on the evaluation of these internal and external factors. Apart from it, another component of the study report is developing different strategies, which can help manage EEF. Finally, in the third phase of the report, the communication plan is shaped to share various insights with all key stakeholders.
· Evaluation of the Internal and External Factors and their Impact
First, project management has to set the foundation to evaluate internal factors, which can create an impact on the project’s success. For instance, one of the prominent internal factors is organizational culture. It is a fact that all key stakeholders, including project managers, employees, and many others, have to integrate with different values, norms, and traditions. The best way to make the project successful is to make all key stakeholders certain of these values and standards. In short, integration with the organizational culture is critical to gain and sustain success. However, the culture must be aligned with the different project needs. For instance, the project can be successful if there is a culture of togetherness in the internal business environment. The participative approach is key to project success. It may increase all key stakeholders’ assertiveness to contribute to project success. In the case of an outdated culture, the chances of success are in jeopardy. On the other hand, another prominent internal factor is the type of organizational structure. There are two main types of organizational structure. These are centralized and decentralized structures. For this particular project, there is a need for a decentralized structure, as work and functions are to be delegated to different departments. In the mega project, an effective delegation is always critical. A separate decision-making process can bring efficiency to the project process. Therefore, it can be said that a decentralized structureis valid in terms of project success. Internal political condition is also one of the prominent EEF, which is visible in the internal environment. When initiating, planning, executing, monitoring, and closing the project, there is always a need for integrity. All stakeholders must be on the same page to derive the expected outcomes. If the internal force or the whole project team is divided over different issues or challenges, success cannot be attained. Subsequently, in the internal environment, the availability of various resources is also a critical factor. Different resources, such as human, technological, and financial, can contribute to project success. For instance, a lack of adequate financial resources will restrain the project management from conducting useful project budgeting or cost estimation. On the other hand, lack of human resources will ruin the whole project, as the advance of skills or expertise can be a colossal disaster, as far as the project’s success is concerned (Simplilearn, 2019).
Conversely, in the external environment, government regulation is also one of the prominent factors. It is a fact that government regulation can be changed with time, and it can create an impact on the project’s success or functions. Stimulating the ability to make the project flexible in different conditions is the right approach to be consistent and fruitful. Even the project’s scope can be changed due to this particular internal factor, and the project manager must be aware of it. Also, another external factor, which seems impactful in terms of project success, is market conditions. It is a fact that project management is always determined to integrate with needs in the market. Changing or evolving the market condition, such as competitor’s actions, new trends, technological revolution, and buying behavior of customers, can hit the project hard if the project management is not prepared well in this regard. It can be said that the project outcomes should be aligned with new market needs. Therefore, a robust market analysis is always needed to be relevant in the market. External political condition is also a key factor, which is impactful. For instance, thepolitical situation can hit positively or negatively, and the project management must be aware of it. The stable political condition can depict less political or government interventions, enabling smooth project success. Apart from it, several legal conditions can also restrain the project management from completing the project effectively. Often, legal restrictions are contradictory to the project activities. There are severe legal restrictions. The project management has to modify its scope and input. With the same scope or project inputs, success cannot be attained. Finally, different industry standards are also in the limelight. Project management can ensure project success by aligning with these industry standards. These industry standards can be aligned with project inputs, tools and techniques, and project outcomes. In short, alignment with the industry-standard will make the project outcomes generally accepted, and it justifies the success of the project (Usmani, 2019).
· Development of Strategies to Implement the Appropriate Actions
Developing the strategies to implement actions is imperative, as it can reduce the impact of enterprise environmental factors. The best strategic consideration by the management or the project is organizational process asset implementation. OPA has been defined by the project management body of knowledge (Schwalbe, 2015). OPA is a process of making plans, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases to improve project management performance. The purpose is to align with these plans and policies to ensure the project’s success despite containing threats from internal and external factors (Heldman, 2011). Now, multiple strategies are to be shaped and executed under the organizational process asset. The first strategy is to develop standard guidelines for the project. These standard guidelines can be aligned with both internal and external factors. Apart from it, developing the evaluation criteria is an appropriate strategy. In these evaluation criteria, the project management must examine the whole project process in terms of market needs, industry-standard, restrictions, and internal cultural values. Apart from it, one of the key strategies is the change control procedure. The change control procedure’s development is the best way to make some changes along with the appropriate control when industry-standard, legal restrictions, and market conditions change. The change control procedure is one of the best strategies that can keep the project’s effectiveness and possible success in a loop. The development of risk templates or risk registers is also one of the best strategies to get things in the favor as far as the impact of internal and external factors in the project success is concerned. Navigating the probability, influence, and possible solutions regarding these factors’ negative effect is a good move, which can lead to the project success (Heldman, 2011)
· Communication Plan and Outcomes to Diverse Stakeholders
| Description | Frequency | Method | Audience | Owner |
| Communication Name | How Often it Happens | Method of Communication | Who will Receive | Who is Responsible |
| Team Meeting | Daily | Meeting | Project Team | Project Manager |
| Stakeholder Update | Monthly | Emails, Telecommunication | Stakeholders | Project Manager |
| Board Meeting | Monthly | Meeting | Board | Project Manager |
| Project Progress | Quarterly | Meeting, Email, Memos | Project Manager | Project Manager |
In the presence of diverse stakeholders in the project management process, there is a need to develop a solid communication plan. The purpose of the communication plan development is to share essential insights with relevant stakeholders, including the project manager. In the communication mentioned above plan, it has been revealed that the project manager is responsible for the whole communication process. There will be four types of communications, which are team meetings, stakeholder updates, board meetings, and project progress. Interestingly, for every kind of project communication, separate communication methods and target audiences are determined. In this whole communication process, the strategic aim is to discuss the impact of project success’s internal and external factors. This communication plan can be changed with time due to the project teams’ new needs and requirements (Project Management Institute, 2017).
It is to conclude that enterprise environmental factors must be identified early in the project management process, as it can set the foundation to make effective strategies. This comprehensive evaluation of internal and external factions set the ground for the project team to develop some key strategies backed by organizational process assets. Finally, a solid communication plan is also shaped by project management to enhance the visibility of effective communication with diverse stakeholders
Personal Learning Reflection
· Key Knowledge and skills Learned
Learning knowledge and expertise regarding project management is always sufficient to become a better contributor to the whole project process. By steering this subject and completing different project management tasks, I understood how to execute pertinent knowledge and skills in various activities. I learned those project activities are interrelated, and there is a need to develop an adequate skill set to become the right executor. For instance, I learned communication, decision making, problem-solving, and collaborative skills in this subject, as these are critical for project stakeholders to complete the project successfully. This subject is a kind of literature about project management, and by exploring multiple dynamics, I managed to derive necessary and required skills. On the other hand, in terms of knowledge, I grabbed fundamental project management principles, these fundamental principles always trigger different projects, and I am quite aware of it now. For instance, knowledge regarding enterprise environmental factors, including internal and external factors, seems critical for me. I understood how these factors could change things in the project management process despite containing specific strategies.
· Benefit for Further Study and Career
This subject, including skills and knowledge, can help me further study and project management career. Concerning the new study, the current subject, knowledge, and skills will help me understand the project management’s advanced concepts and dimensions. Consequently, the subject and related knowledge facilitated me in understanding the basics, and the advanced project knowledge is based on it. As far as the project management career is concerned, the most crucial thing is to turn knowledge and skills into practical experience. I know how to deal with multiple project inputs, processing, and outcomes. Thus, with a little training, I can become an excellent stakeholder in any project. In short, this subject or knowledge sets the foundation for an incredible project management career. Nevertheless, it is to be mentioned that project management is still evolving with time, as current knowledge or skills may become outdated due to new trends and techniques. Therefore, the learning process should not be stopped, as integrating with the latest trends and knowledge can make the career sustainable.
· Any Good, Bad or Ugly of total Learning Experience
When enhancing the learning process, there may be good and bad experiences. In the total learning experience, I found an excellent instructor and peers, as it helped me adopt the collaborative approach to navigate the project management dynamics. It seemed an enjoyable experience for me to work with credible or capable people, which enhanced my learning experiences. The subject and literature also contained some practice activities and examples. It has been a pleasant experience for me because it assisted me in preparing for the project management career. The bad or ugly experience for me in this total learning was lack of communication and time management skills. It made the total learning experience ugly or bad for a while, as there were always the same barriers when intending to communicate with diverse stakeholders. Now, I am prepared to be a part of any project as I enhanced my experience and overcame resistance and barriers.
References
Burke, R. (2013). Project Management Techniques. Burke Publishing.
Heldman, K. (2011). PMP Project Management Professional Exam Study Guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Liu, B., Xue, B., Huo, T., Shen, G., & Fu, M. (2019). Project external environmental factors affecting project delivery systems selection. Journal of Civil Engineering and Management, 25(3), 276-286.
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. Newtown Square.
Schwalbe, K. (2015). Information Technology Project Management. Cengage Learning.
Simplilearn. (2019, September). Enterprise Environmental Factors & Organizational Process Assets. Retrieved from https://www.simplilearn.com/enterprise-environmental-factors-organizational-process-assets-article
Usmani, F. (2019, October 21). Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) & Organizational Process Assets (OPA). Retrieved from https://pmstudycircle.com/2012/01/enterprise-environmental-factors-organizational-process-assets/
Well-Stam, D. v., Lindenaar, F., & Kinderen, S. V. (2004). Project Risk Management: An Essential Tool for Managing and Controlling Projects. Kogan Page Publishers.
