Relocation of the Myrad Primary
School Phase 1
The project consists of two phases, Phase 1 deals with
the purchase of the property on which the Myrad School will be located while
Phase 2 deals with funding for the building of the
school.
Background Information
Myrad is a
private school which has an enrollment of 250 students. The school is housed in
a basement of rented building which has the capacity to house just about 150
students. Thus the school is overcrowded. The administration has used every
possible space available in the school. The school is on demand. Each year
there are many persons placed on a waiting list for admittance into the school
only to receive calls that space is not available.
Administration recognized that a school of such potential
needed to relocate and have its own building so that it could offer better
quality and improve its services. Thus the project of purchasing land and
building a school was born. Phase one was furious and fast but there is a drag
on Phase 2.
Phase 1
Need feasibility was
conducted. The goal and concept definition was provided. A market research was
done. A team developed a beneficial cost and then a project strategy was drawn
up. The project charter was then approved.
What
contributed to the success of Phase 1
A great sense of
urgency was developed and shared among the school’s constituency and stake
holders. There was communication throughout the project. Several channels
were used for the dissemination of information (face book, telephone, emails,
church announcement, pamphlets, direct promotions in large gatherings) A strong
project manager and good support for the project from the relevant
stakeholders contributed greatly. The promotions were creative and attractive. The Kick off meeting
was high-powered. That is to say the top officials of the school were the ones
delivering the project plans and ideas. The responsibility matrix was drawn up
and the line of communication was also given. All these contributed to the
success of the project.
The
project could have attained more funding if all stake holders were given a
thorough explanation of the project at the initial phase. By this I mean when
the scope of the project was extended the new stakeholders were not given
sufficient information and thus they felt that they were just drawn into a
project as a means to an end. However because of the communication which
followed they bought into the project. The delay of these stake holders buying
in held back the project to a certain extent. I also believe that if the literal plan
of the building was shown to the relevant stake holders earlier in the project it would have gained
more support and at a faster pace.
Phase 2 is behind schedule but with the information being learned from this course thus far the project will gain momentum.
Hi Ursula
ReplyDeleteThe school that I work at is brand new. Our process to design and build the school took about three years. Like all new schools, we have lived through some glitches in the design features this year. The Project Manager for this project should use a systematic process to ensure that all phases of the project run smoothly (Murphy, 1994). “Project management systematically builds a process whereby accountability plays a critical role in the design process” (Murphy, 1994, p. 11). How many people are on the design team? What criteria were used to select the team members? Did any of the team members have experience with these phases of designing a new school?
Reference:
Murphy, C. (1994). Utilizing project management techniques in the design of instructional materials. Performance & Instruction, 33(3), 9–11.
The design team comprises of one architect who has drawn up plans for several schools on the island,2 contractors, a project manager who has worked on several projects and an educator.
DeleteUrsula
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog and wish you much success. Only thing is, I would of liked to know more about what is planned for phase 2 of the project.
As you know, project management is about taking ideas and converting them into a planned, resourced and funded project. Although during phase one, the project was clearly defined as to what was going to be achieved, from what I gathered from your information, they could of done a better job on the scope of the project. They should determined what resources and time should be allotted/secured for the project at the beginning.
Phase two is the plan for the building.The plan was to raise up to certain sum of money and request a US group who specializes in project like these to come by February 2012 to begin and complete the foundation.Then a contracting firm would take it from there to completion.
ReplyDeletethe fund raising ideas for phase two are
- Proposal to the government = $2000000.00
- atleast 1000 to contribute 200 = $1000000.00
- 5000 stakeholders contributing $200 =$1000000.00
Expected amount to be raised is $4million dollars by December
2012.
Ursula, I really enjoyed your Post Mortem Project scenario and analysis. I see you are located in the Islands...I know it is beautiful weather there nearly all year round. Hence, I can understand why you have not received your books now too.
ReplyDeleteI know you will be very instrumental in getting the project off the ground. The method in which you describe the plan for getting land and building of a new school to accommodate expansion of services to more students will happen with your input. Have you figured out where you will get the funding for land and building of the space you require? I am not versed on how much land cost. Nevertheless, if you could find someone that would donate land for the school that would be a great start. Alternatively, perhaps the government has land for sale via lottery.
Hi Ursula
ReplyDeleteIs this the school at which you are the administrator? What kind of courses/subjects are being offered at this school? What makes it so unique that there is such a great demand? Even though it is a private school, could you get help from the government?
Lynette