Your organization has just completed the Initiation Process for implementing an Email System Upgrade. It was identified in a recent meeting with management leaders from the Sales, Consulting and IT departments that the current email system is causing significant business interruptions and must be updated. You have been assigned the role of project manager to develop the project schedule and costs. As project manager, you are responsible in implementing and enforcing the project schedule and its estimates, expected costs, and the techniques and methods that will be chosen to execute and control the project. The project is being initiated with the following initial project scope in mind:
– There are five email systems currently being used across twelve departments and offices. These will be replaced and consolidated into one email system.
– New Email Standards and Protocols will be established and training provided to all departments.
– All 2000 current email users will be converted to the new system, and 500 new users that did not have email before will be added.
– Users will have both LAN and remote access to email.
– Help desk and support infrastructure will be set-up to accommodate the new system.
– Equipment will be salvaged.
– User PCs will be upgraded to accommodate the new email system.

Tasks required for solution:

Create the WBS for the project.

Define Scope of the project
– Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) representative of the scope of work
– All major tasks, organized into work packets. Prepare estimates for the activities or work packets at this time.

Assign an initial work effort estimated in days to each of the activities.

Calculate estimates in days of work effort (not duration). Give justifications and details on assumptions, 6-8 paragraphs.

Based on the WBS and estimates, apply the standard PERT estimating formula and calculate the expected estimate (Te) for each activity. Use a table similar to the one provided to complete the estimates.

Provide an explanation of the PERT estimate.