Use of Generative AI Tools (Allowed)

The use of generative AI tools is allowed for this assignment.

• You are expected to provide proper attribution if you use generative AI tools while completing the assignment, including appropriate and discipline-specific citation, a table detailing the name of the AI tool used, the approach to using the tool (e.g. what prompts were used), the full output provided by the tool, and which part of the output was adapted for the assignment;
• To take note of section 3, paragraph 3.2 and section 5.2, paragraph 2A.1 (Viva Voce) of the Student Handbook;
• The University has the right to exercise the viva voce option to determine the authorship of a student’s submission should there be reasonable grounds to suspect that the submission may not be fully the student’s own work.
• For more details on academic integrity and guidance on responsible use of generative AI tools in assignments, please refer to the TLC website for more details;
• The university will continue to review the use of generative AI tools based on feedback and in light of developments in AI and related technologies.

 The Objective of this GBA

(a) To provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate the concepts learnt in the course and to develop/sharpen the necessary technical skills and knowledge on project management.

(b) To let students work together in a group and leverage the knowledge of and resources from each team member to create a report. Students are expected to coordinate the work in this GBA as if it is a project.

Please note that:

• The details and the names in this GBA case are fictional and any resemblance to any real-life situation is purely coincidental.
• As information is given throughout the case, you are advised to read the entire GBA document before working on the report.
• Students who simply reproduce the course materials without relating to the GBA case will be given low or no marks.
• An ability to (i) conduct proper research, provide the appropriate reference of sources. Students must provide proper in-text citations and an end-text reference list, and (ii) demonstrate critical thinking and creativity are all essential skills that our students must develop. Hence, marks will also be awarded for good research effort and proper referencing.
• Students should not include the GBA questions in the report.

Background

Mr Tang, CEO of an electronics manufacturing business, expanded his firm’s business into the retail industry some years ago and set up a supermarket chain called, ‘Good Value’ Mart. The supermarket chain’s mission is to provide ease of service offering and convenience to customers shopping for daily groceries, freshly produce products and household items. The strategic objectives are to achieve sustainable stakeholder values, provide affordable products and be a well-recognised brand.

This business segment has been delivering strong results for the group, following aggressive expansion to 48 outlets with an increased in headcounts in three distinct retail formats, including supermarkets, minimarts and halal hub outlets catering to the Muslim community on a brick-and-mortar business model. Hence, there are challenges in prioritising the projects and resources are thinly spread in the multiproject environment. However, the profit of the supermarket business has declined in recent years based on a reduction of 20 outlets due to rising operating costs, intense competition and increasing customer shopping preference for new products and platforms.

The senior management of ‘Good Value’ Mart decides to expand their supermarket retail business to create a new full-fledged shopping mall experience by using robots to serve customers. This shall be known as the Robocol Project, and you are appointed as the Project Manager.

Section 1: Understanding the Relationships between Organisation and Projects

Question 1

Based on the intention to create a full-fledged shopping mall experience for ‘Good Value’ Mart by using robotic assistants, the management is eager to setup a team for the Robocol Project and to complete the project within two (2) months.

Propose a suitable Project Management Structure for the Robocol Project. Provide a short description of how the structure works and explain any three (3) advantages of the structure.

Note: The maximum word count for Question 1 is 250 words, which should be indicated at the end of the answer.

(11 marks)

Section 2: Leading the Project and Managing the Project Team

Question 2

(a) Being appointed as the Project Manager for the Robocol Project, your first task is to recruit suitable project team members from within and outside of ‘Good Value’ Mart.

Compare any four (4) attributes of project team members to be considered in the recruitment process. For each attribute, explain how it will impact the project team’s performance, and list down one (1) approach you will adopt to assess or enhance this attribute for (1) internal staff, and (2) external candidates.

Note: The maximum word count for Question 2(a) is 350 words, which should be indicated at the end of the answer.

(20 marks)

(b) ‘Good Value’ Mart will collaborate with Tigerbot, a local robotic company in the implementation of the Robocol Project. The robotic assistant will be built and tested in Singapore, with the support of GovTech. The Robocol Project Team consists of the following members:

• Yourself: An Operations Manager from ‘Good Value’ Mart, who is appointed as the Robocol Project Manager.
• May Ling: A logistic officer from ‘Good Value’ Mart. Her role is to work with Tigerbot to define the robotic procedures, and to train the ‘Good Value’ Mart functional team on operating the Robocol robotic assistant.
• Faiz: An IT Engineer from Telsing. His role is to design and install the data network to connect the robot to the 5G internet service and other ‘Good Value’ Mart systems. He will also work with Tigerbot to install the robot and ensure that the connectivity works.
• Wee Siong: A senior customer officer from ‘Good Value’ Mart who is familiar with the customer relationship system. He will define the operating procedures with Janet Ling and be involved in testing of robots remotely and on-site.
• Carolina: A technical specialist from Tigerbot. She will customise the robot in Singapore and install it at ‘Good Value’ Mart.

From your Project Manager’s perspective, differentiate four (4) major and diverse organisations or groups of people (i.e., not an individual person) that will be involved in the Robocol Project implementation. For each organisation or group, provide a brief description on its role, its interest and apply any of the five organisational currencies as the influencing tool.

Note:

• The maximum word count for Question 2(b) is 350 words, which should be indicated at the end of the answer.
• Indicate your assumptions of the stakeholders, where necessary, and exclude the Robocol Project Team in the analysis.
• Do not repeat the same currency for different stakeholders.

(24 marks)

Section 3: Developing the Project Plan and Managing Project Risks

Mr Tang has indicated his expectations of the Robocol Project to start on 1 Jan 2025 and to be completed by 31 March 2025. However, business has been slow and the Finance Department has cautioned on maintaining a tight budget and the project team must be prudent in managing the expenses and to work within the stated timeline. The project team then worked out a preliminary set of activities as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 – Activities list for the Robocol Project

Note on the Schedule

1. The project will be carried out on weekdays which are not public holidays. You are required to identify ALL official Singapore Public Holidays from official/government’s online resources that fall within the project implementation period.
   • If a Public Holiday falls on Sunday, the immediate Monday will be a Public Holiday in lieu.
   • If that Monday is another Public Holiday, the immediate Tuesday will be the Public Holiday in lieu.
   • There will be no holiday-in-lieu for a Public Holiday that falls on Saturday.
2. Table 1 shows activities before grouping according to Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
   • Activity 1 is the Level-1 Activity.
   • The project team has decided there will be three Level-2 activities with their respective Level-3 activities grouped below:
     • Administration: Activity number – 2, 5, 12, 15, 16
     • Robotic operations: Activity number – 3, 9, 10, 13, 14
     • System and network: Activity number – 4, 6, 7, 8, 11
3. You are not required to create a separate WBS diagram. However, you need to list the activities in MS Project according to the grouping above.
4. All project members have functional department staff/partners/contractors to carry out some of their assigned work. Hence, a project member can be working on multiple tasks simultaneously. There is no need to resolve resource conflicts. You are not required to fill in the Resource Names in MS Project.

Using MS Project for Question 2:

1. You must mark in MS Project all Public Holidays and Holidays-in-lieu as Non-Working Days.
   • Click Project -> Change Working Time. Then enter the name or nature of the holiday and the date. Click Details -> Click Nonworking.
2. Click Project -> Project Information -> Set Start Date as dictated by the CEO.
3. Click View -> Gantt Chart -> Gantt Chart, then View -> Table -> Entry to enter the Task Name, Duration, Predecessors.
4. Set Activity 1 as the Higher-Level Activity by highlighting all activities below and right indenting them to second level.
5. Click the task(s) row (individually or in group) and drag them up or down to gather the activities into three groups shown in item 2 above. Then add a task (row) for actual Level-2 Activity. Right indent the original tasks to be Level-3 Activities.
6. Check each task to ensure that the duration and predecessors are the same as those in the Activity List in Table 1. Manually change the information if needed.
7. To show any critical path in red color, click Format, and tick Critical Task.

Question 3

(a) To execute the project efficiently, you are required to:

• Design a Gantt Chart with MS Project. The activities shall be shown in three levels.
• Activity 1: “Robotic Surgery System (RSS) Project” shall be the Level-1 Activity.
• The other activities are grouped into respective Level-2 groups as listed above.
• You shall refer to Textbook Chapter 4, Exhibit 4.1 for a similar format.
• You must show the “i”, Task Mode, Task Name, Duration, Start Date, Finish Date and Predecessor columns on the left of the Gantt Chart.
• Critical path activities shall be shown in red where applicable.

Derive and state the following information from the Gantt Chart:

1. Project duration.
2. Completion date.
3. Comments on the project schedule.

Note: You are not required to resolve any schedule issues.

(b) As the Project Manager, you need to be proactive in preventing or reducing risks to minimize impacts to Robocol Project implementation.

Analyze five (5) potential risks that may happen during the RSS Project implementation period, one from each of the categories:

(c) For each risk identified in Question 3(b), solve it by choosing the most appropriate risk response way and followed by a response plan.

Note on risk response:

1. You are allowed to repeat, at most, one response way. As such, a minimum of four response ways must be used for the five identified risks.

2. You are not required to plan and execute a Risk Contingency Plan.
(15 marks)