Customers’ Files conversion to Electronic Files

I previously worked for a company which endeavored to converting their customers’ files to electronic files. This meant that all of the information contained in their customers’ accounts would be turned from paper files to an electronic file. The information in their customers’ files included signed contracts, signed invoices, and signed service agreements. The software the company planned to use was a program which was developed by one of the programmers in the company.

The project began by creating a test group. They selected a small group of accounts to convert. A timeframe was established for the conversion of the accounts, and a budget was designated for the expenses of the project. The conversion of the files consisted of utilizing a group of employees to manually scan all of the documents inside each of the customers’ files; a total of 12,000 customer files were to be scanned. The pilot group was instructed how to scan the files and was assigned 50 customer files to scan. The staff that would be responsible for the duties was selected and instructed to begin. The first 50 files were scanned with very minor issues. The management team felt the pilot run had been a success and began scanning all of the customers’ files. This is where the problem arose.

Unfortunately, the management did not take several variables into consideration when planning for the project. First, the project plan did not include all of the elements. It lacked the assignment of the roles of all the team members, a detailed project schedule, the budget allocated was not well thought out, therefore, creating a deficit, and the possible risks and responses were not addressed or planned for. The management assigned one manager to manage the execution of the project as well as manage the staff involved. This overloaded the manager as he was responsible for all phases of the project without assistance. Second, management failed to maintain vigilance and did not check the performance compared to the plan designed. The tasks of the project were taking longer than it was planned for and problems arose which were not planned for.

Needless to say, this project failed in all aspects; planning, budget, efficiency and due to the mishaps which happened during the execution of the plan, the project failed as it was abandoned and never completed. I believe that poor planning and communication caused the failure of this project. Defining an effective plan and engaging all of the stakeholders and individuals responsible for the project and its success would have ensured that the project was successful.

Reference

Greer, M. (2010). The Project Management Minimalist: Just Enough PM to Rock Your Projects! Retrieved November 9, 2012, from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201320_04/MS_INDT/EDUC_6145/Week%202/Resources/Week%202%20Resources/embedded/pm-minimalist-ver-3-laureate.pdf