7163MAA CW1 Project Management Information Systems Report Assignment, CU

Assignment Task:

Power Innovations (PI) is a technical engineering company managing contracts worth a total of £25  million annually, divided as follows:

1. The largest contract, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 1988, was a five-year  agreement worth £15 million per year, set for renewal in 1993. 

2. Another contract with the DOE was valued at £8 million per annum. 

3. The remaining £2 million was divided into smaller contracts, ranging from £20,000 to £70,000 per  year.

Although the DOE was pleased with PI's technical performance, the follow-on contract must go through  competitive bidding. The DOE intends to spend £10 million per year for five years on the follow-on  contract, with an award date set for December 1993.

In June 1993, PI received the proposal, and the technical requirements outlined in the proposal were  acceptable to PI. However, the DOE requested a detailed section on how PI would manage the £10  million per year project, including a comprehensive description of the project management system at  PI.

When PI secured the original bid in 1988, there was no requirement for project management. All projects  at PI were carried out using traditional organizational structures, with line managers serving as project  leaders.

PI reacted by hiring a consultant to help the proposal team respond to the project management  requirements of the proposal and to train all staff in project management.

After the proposal was submitted, DOE responded with a list of pre-proposal questions, more than 95%  of which were about how the PI would manage the project. In October 1993, PI received notification  that it would not be granted the contract because the DOE had no "faith" in PI's project management  system. As a result, PI went out of business.

Analyse and critically evaluate the case study provided; identify and explain the cause of failures based  on your analysis of the stakeholders and issues encountered. Provide an informed suggestion on which  strategy to adopt and implement a suitable PMIS in the specified context.

Assessed Module Learning Outcomes

The Learning Outcomes for this module align to the marking criteria which can be found at the end of  this brief. Ensure you understand the marking criteria to ensure successful achievement of the  assessment task. The following module learning outcomes are assessed in this task:

1. Understand the information management processes, information life cycles and tools and  techniques.

2. Prioritise the steps required to plan and manage project information and develop an effective  project information management plan 

3. Critically analyse how a PMIS can improve the quality of the reports and decisions in the  project