Improvements to ORION Project Structure and Organization for Project Jaguar

ByGroup B – Benjamin Broxterman, Pastaveia St John, &

Michael Wyss

JAGUAR PROJECT OVERVIEW

ORION awarded government contract to build next generation high-speed, light-rail trains

High profile project- if successful, potential for other government contracts

Highly competitive- bidders have promised earlier deadline, better quality, reliability, & lower cost

CHALLENGES

Project Manager: Mike Rosas

Problems facing ORION team: Lack of manufacturing design = higher cost

than expected Reactive approach to quality management =

quality issues Poor quality user manuals/technical documents

= customer support issues Matrix arrangement = lack of project ownership Lack of constraints on design engineers =

scope creep

OUR FOCUS

Organization of Project Jaguar

Efficiency improvements & maximized use of resources

Project master plans

Organization of Project Jaguar

Current model: matrix structure- can lead to: Higher costs Quality issues Lack of strong project ownership

Organization of Project Jaguar

Solution: transition to dedicated team

Advantages (Baker, 2009): Customer and project focus Fast communication Problem solving and decision making Increased cooperation between functions Resources dedicated to team- saves time

Organization of Project Jaguar

Alternative solution: hybrid team Some dedicated team members, some matrix,

or Transition from dedicated team to matrix as

project allows Clelland (1998) - “different management

structures can be applied at different phases of the project life cycle.”

Efficiency & Use of Resources

Current resources allocated to similar projects by ORION: Project manager Planning and control manager Electronics system engineer

Efficiency & Use of Resources

Suggested additions to project management staff to increase overall efficiency: Quality manager

ensure quality final project increase customer satisfaction and retention

(Rose, 2005) Design/Production manager

Oversee design engineers Create production schedule Design production line

Project Jaguar Master Plan

ORION typically uses linear plan for product development and launch Inefficient use of time and resources

Moving suitable activities forward in timeline maximizes time usage Building production line Documentation/training

FOLLOW UP

Changes made to project after our preliminary report: Half of each team dedicated to Project Jaguar 3 manager positions added Suggested parts of master plan moved forward

in timeline

CONCLUSION Transition to a dedicated or hybrid project team will

simplify communication and teamwork to increase productivity.

Addition of a quality manager and design/production manager to the project leadership team can help streamline the design and production process and increase the quality of the product and customer service.

Examination of master plan and coordinating parts of project that can be done simultaneously improves production and reduces overall timeline.

Changes made for Project Jaguar can be applied to other projects to increase ORION’s competitiveness.

REFERENCES

Baker, D. (2009). Multi-company project management: Maximizing business results through strategic collaboration. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=rv4tXEbdjY8C&pg=PA47&dq=Benefits+of+dedicated+project+teams&hl=en&ei=xx6qTbOBE8rgiAK96dDvDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=snippet&q=dedicated%20project&f=false 

Cleland, D. I. (1998). Project management: Strategic design and implementation. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.sckans.edu/lib/southwesternks/docDetail.action?docID=10152685

Rose, K. H. (2005). Project quality management: Why, what, and how. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.sckans.edu/lib/southwesternks/docDetail.action?docID=10124760