Running head: Huffman Trucking: Desktop Management / ERP Huffman Trucking: Desktop Management & ERP Considerations William Dumire Sheryl Carter Tracy Hunter Jeremy Whitson James Welty University of Phoenix BSA / 405 – End-User Business Applications September 15, 2008 Huffman Trucking: Desktop Management & ERP Considerations Introduction In today’s highly competitive global marketplace, organizations must learn to improve efficiency and take advantage of all available resources. Huffman Trucking understands this concept and has requested that their information technology infrastructure be evaluated to identify any deficiencies and maximize operational efficiencies accordingly. …show more content…
This will require a parallel operating set of procedures during which beta testing and bug fixes can occur. While the new desktop management strategies can be implemented rather quickly, it will be necessary to install our proposed fleet trucking tracking and maintenance program in thoughtful and purposeful steps. We recommend a six month implementation time-frame with frequent testing and revisions as needed. Resource Allocation Constraints The key to a successful project is planning the use of resources and time throughout the project. People are the most valuable and costly resource of most organizations. In order to maximize productivity, utilization and realization, it’s critical to assign the right people to the right project teams (LMR Solutions, 2008). Software solutions and Infrastructures are architected, developed, engineered and supported by employees who have the time, energy, skills and interest to make the specific initiative successful. However, Huffman Trucking has limited access to a number of these resources. Furthermore, these types of resources are often in short supply compared to the demand for new software solutions and infrastructures. The nature and extent of these constraints which project managers experience, varies from one situation to another. Although no matter what the constraints may be, they will always, at some point affect the way the project is carried out. Managing people across an organization can be
In order for an organization to remain successful, it must be able to fulfill its day-to-day operations without mistakes. If these demands cannot be met, a new project must be created in order to stay in business and ahead of the competition. If an organization has a problem, they can benefit from fixing it by following a formal process for identifying, selecting, initiating, and planning projects (Valacich, 2009).
In our quest to ever better ourselves the IT department, of Riordan Manufacturing, is submitting this Request for Proposal to integrate a more sophisticated, state-of-the art, information systems technology in our Human Resources department. Riordan Manufacturing has always strived to better ourselves by keeping up with technology in all of our operating systems and our manufacturing systems. Our goal is to remain at the forefront of the manufacturing community as we keep leading the way in all of our business systems and, at the same time, keeping the feel of a customer friendly company. We want to make
In a matrix structure, each employee answers to two immediate supervisors: a department supervisor and a project manager. The department supervisor is charged with overseeing employees in a functional area such as marketing or engineering. Project supervisors manage a specific and often impermanent project. They absorb employees from various functional areas to complete their project teams. This kind of organizational structure has several advantages especially if the project managers identify their team strengths and weakness early. Directing the staff with effective leadership skills is a key role as a project manager. A clear direction of the project from start to completion is vital. Therefore, the project managers must carry top notch planning and organizational skills. To follow the WBS and have a clear understanding of the importance of remaining on budget throughout the entire project is mandatory. The experienced project manager must keep planning, staffing, budgeting and scheduling and other control techniques under wrap, by utilizing their administrative skill according to Project Management, (Kerzner, 2013). Although the administrative and other techniques are important, in this particular project, each project manager must work closely as a team member and example. Building the team and each departmental manager into a working cohesive team, could be the true
According to Service Request SR-ht-003, We were to develop a design for a fleet truck maintenance database, located on the Huffman Trucking IT Service Requests site. This paper will talk about how our team completed the Change Request that was on the Huffman Trucking Service Request.
Cost and Value management is becoming a large part of companies competing in today’s market. According to the text, “projects and their effective management can provide organizations with a significant competitive edge through cost reduction, enhanced responsiveness, and overall value to customers.” (Venkataraman & Pinto, 2008, p. 1). In this paper we are going to focus on some of the techniques and how they can either help or hinder a project. Through information and examples we will explore the importance of work packages and the work breakdown structure (WBS), establishing a cost and schedule performance
Huffman Trucking is a national transportation company based in Cleveland, Ohio. (UOP, 2009) The organization has 1,400 employees and 800 trucks on the road, with logistical hubs in California, New Jersey and Missouri. The company’s mission reads: “our mission is to be a profitable, growing, adaptive company in an intensively competitive logistical services benefit environment.” The focus of Huffman’s mission is on stockholders, customers, regulatory, employees, stakeholders and technology, which supports the company in accomplishing its mission.
Huffman Trucking has offices paired with plants in four states: California, Missouri, New Jersey, and Ohio. Huffman has grown both organically and through acquisition. The tremendous growth experienced by the company has also shined the light on some growing pains. Each of the four locations have independently managed networks including telephony which has resulted in disconnected systems that require independent investment for upgrades, support, and maintenance and lacks the ability to leverage investments across the organization. The end result includes multiple proprietary telephony platforms and gateways that leave the organization unable to reduce overhead cost in this area. There is some good
In today’s competitive economic climate, most project managers and organizational leadership has concluded the importance of the positive impact that project management leadership has contributed to the organization and on their projects and programs. This positive impact has caused most organizations to implement Project Support Offices (PSO). Within the Project Support Offices (PSO) there will be an understanding of the importance of the as-is and the to-be process is to managing projects and programs. The Project Support Office (PSO) uses this very effective technique in transforming vision into results. This technique is used to develop and populate an As-Is and To-Be diagrams. The As-Is diagram depicts the present state of the organizations, project or program process, culture, and capabilities. The To-Be diagram depicts the desired future state of how the organizations process, culture, and capabilities will look in the future. This case study reviews the goals confronted by the Pizza Delivered Quickly (PDQ) business while further developing the multiple related sub-systems to achieve the Pizza Delivery Quick (PDQ) requirements and be able to manage the project (Wysocki, 2012).
The Global Infrastructure Group, a subsidiary of the Global Financial Corporation, is an international conglomerate specializing in developing technologies and solutions for the Global Financial Corporation. This proposal for the Global Infrastructure Group will advise on what requirements the organization can best implement for a comprehensive project management system that can be used in a global organization that has small-, medium-, and large-scale projects. This proposal will
The PDQ project will take a detail process that will help launch the appropriate software technology along with existing processes in order to implement new cutting edge innovations. Although technology is not the only leverage for improving project management, modern technology is an important element (Kendall & Austin, 2013). Today, businesses depend on technology to produce more in less time and with minimal resources making modern technology a critical component to a successful business. In today’s high tech world, it is important to develop and execute effective project management strategies that will place the company at a competitive level. Companies must continue to work on projects that will drive their business to innovate and change for the better (Shenhar & Dvir, 2997).
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements (PMBOK Guide, 2008). Using this definition, it is made evident that the parties involved in the Denver International Airport (DIA) Baggage System project in the 1990’s failed at applying basic organizational practices towards managing the triple constraint of scope, time, and cost goals. The combination of inherent risks, uncertainties, and dysfunctional decision making geared the project towards disappointment while simultaneously designating it as a text book example of what not do when taking on a complex project. By looking at the key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats we can
While projects can be similar in some instances, no two projects are ever the same. For this reason, management of projects requires the application of tools and techniques to meet the goals of the temporary endeavor. Project managers apply these tools and techniques to determine what is required for project delivery such as the list of activities to completed, the time required to complete the activities, resources needed and the various risks associated with the deliverable and efforts. A multitude of tools and techniques are employed by the project manager based on the need of the effort to organize, identify and communicate the various aspects of the project. While in contrast, the repetitive nature of operations activities
Software developers and software engineers face considerable challenges while attempting to plan, design, implement and complete software development projects. Key challenges facing software development project leaders and other professionals include coping with increasing diversity, responding to demands for reduced delivery times and developing software
A key activity in project management is assessing project constraints. A project has three limitations: scope, budget and schedule. These limitations are project constraints because they are sensitive to change and have an impact on project risk. Risk is exposure to uncertain outcomes. Project constraints are mutually exclusive. If one constraint changes it affects the others and adjustments may be required to compensate and manage risks. For example, a delay in the schedule can increase the risk that the project will not finish on time. Time is money and delays have a negative impact on the budget. To
For any company involved in the development of IT system applications or any other software, having a team of people who knows what they are doing, will determine if the application will be useful or a total failure. Since money cannot be wasted and it is sometimes shorted by the client, having the experience and the right leaders to keep this project organized and on schedule, will help the development team members finish this project on time and on budget. However, in order to stay on track of the requirements set by the client, communicating with the client on a regular basis either by phone or by virtual meetings, the results of the project will most likely be a success.