ProjectPlan

The Childrens Campaign Website Clean-Up Project

Santiago Paz, Akash Sawh

LIS4910- IT Project

Section1, Spring 2014

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Table of Contents

Project Charter .......................................................................................................................... 3

Goal Breakdown Schedule ..................................................................................................... 4

Scope of Work ........................................................................................................................... 5

Communication Plan ................................................................................................................ 6

Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) ........................................................................................ 7

Monitoring & Control Outline ................................................................................................... 8

Risk Management Plan ........................................................................................................... 9

Progress/Project Schedule ................................................................................................... 11

Handoff Plan ............................................................................................................................ 13

Conclusion/Reflection ............................................................................................................ 14

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Childrens Campaign Website Clean-Up Project Plan

Project Managers: Santiago Paz & Akash Sawh

Project Charter

The following project plan was developed and designed for the clean-up of the

Childrens Campaigns website, which is located at www.iamforkids.org. The Childrens

Campaign is a youth-advocacy organization, involved in the promotion and education of

childrens rights, freedom, and overall well-being. They work with various entities that

include but are not limited to the media, the local and state community, as well as with

lobbyists and stakeholders.

The organizations website was already in place when the project began,

however, it was full of content that was out of date, interfaces that werent user-friendly,

features that werent functional, content that was unorganized, and links that were

broken. The reason for cleaning-up the site is simple: its users were having trouble not

only navigating the website, but also finding the content and the information they

needed in a quick and efficient manner. Since the primary funding for Childrens

Campaign comes from donations from the public, it is critical that every aspect of the

website projects a professional image. Anything less than a fully functional, error-free

website would not promote the desired image the Campaign wishes to project and may

discourage the public from responding to requests for donations. The Childrens

Campaign director, Linda Alexionok, was extremely concerned about this issue and was

afraid that it was turning the sites visitors away from the organization. Undoubtedly, this

issue is very important to both, Linda and the organization, which makes its significance

to our project even bigger.

The project managers who will be completing this project are Santiago Paz and

Akash Sawh, students of LIS4910- IT Project class during the 2014 spring semester,

along with the help of the Childrens Campaign technology team. The project will be

done by first, getting the developers to become familiar with the organization and their

goals. This will help give the developers a better idea of how they must structure the

website, and of what type of features are needed for it. This will also give them a

chance to understand how the organization runs. The developers will then perform an

analysis of the website, making note of anything that needs to be modified or fixed. The

project team will also discuss their thoughts and observations with the organizations

director and with some of the staff so that they can get a better idea of what other

Childrens Campaigns employees expect from the site. Once this is completed, the

developers along with the rest of the web design team will meet and discuss their

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findings and will then come up with possible solutions. When the solutions are in place

the developers will begin to implement them. The project needs to be completed in an

efficient manner between February of 2014 and April of 2014. There is no specified due

date for the project, but there must be sufficient and satisfactory progress by the third

week of April.

One resource limitation is time, which is limited considering this project will only

last a couple of months. To a smaller degree, knowledge is also a resource limitation,

since both the project managers are students with very limited experience.

Goal Breakdown Schedule

Goal

Objective

Requirements

Assuring that the Childrens Campaign site runs efficiently and error-free

Providing users with a site that is easy to navigate

Staff that has a good understanding of web development and user-centered design, as well as team-communication

Organizing information and content in a manner that is logical and comprehensible

Assuring that the content and information needed by users is accessible to them

A strong knowledge of information organization techniques

Finding ways to better manage the integrity of website pages

Maintaining the organizations reputation for creating accurate and professional information products

Software and/or processes to ensure the integrity of the websites content

Assisting the webmasters to maintain the integrity and relevance of the information on the organizations website

Saving them time by taking care of simpler tasks, making the cleaning up process quicker and less stressful for the entire team

Developers who are willing to learn and to respond to the needs of the organization and its staff

Providing the organization

Attracting contributors and

A process that improves

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with a professional web presence

increasing the number of donations

allows webmasters to easily identify the need for some modifications and editing

Aid the organization in completing its goals and tasks through the use of the Internet

Informing the public on childrens issues to encourage them to take action

A way of communicating information in an accessible manner that appeals to the targeted audience/users

Scope of Work

The purpose of Childrens Campaign Website Clean-Up project is to improve the look,

efficiency, and functionality of the organizations website (iamforkids.org). This project

will meet the Childrens Campaigns need for a modern and attractive web presence

that will bring in new members and more donations. The project was authorized by the

organizations director, Linda Alexionok, as well as the teams knowledge navigator,

Ron Lauver. This project will be completed by Santiago Paz and Akash Sawh, students

of LIS4910- IT Project class during the 2014 spring semester, along with the help of the

Childrens Campaign technology team.

Time: the project will start with preparations in February of 2014 and will conclude (at

least for the two project apprentices) in April of 2014. The apprentices will work on this

project on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3-5 PM, and on Fridays from 11AM-3PM.

Deliverables: The project will produce a cleaner website for the Childrens Campaign.

This website is intended to not only promote the organization and their causes, but to

also attract new members, donations, and to allow current members to easily and

efficiently navigate the site.

Exclusions: This project is not meant to promote any particular policies, political

ideologies or beliefs, or any causes that The Childrens Campaign organization is

associated or involved with.

Constraints: The project might be limited by any combination of the following:

knowledge of the technology team, the cost of equipment, lack of a work space, and/or

time.

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Risk: Potential risks that may cause the project to be delayed or suspended include, but

are not limited to: hardware failure, software failure, illness or absence of staff

members, conflicting ideas/practices, insufficient time, loss of files/documents, and

destruction of the workplace or workplace equipment.

Assumptions: The organization will provide the technology team with clear and

concise details of what they want the team to accomplish. They will provide the

resources for editing, modifying, and creating the website and any of its components.

The demands that the organization makes will be reasonable, and will be achievable

within the allotted time. The technology team will all be prepared to work and will

communicate with each other and with the rest of the organization if they need to.

Communication Plan

What Who Purpose When Method Internal/Exter

nal

Initial meeting with Linda, director

Akash Santiago,Linda

To introduce the team to the organization, their goals, and needs; to discuss how team could potentially help

Before project begins (Thursday, Feb 13, 2014)

E-mail at first, but then a face-to-face meeting with the 3 people

Internal

Second meeting with Linda, and also Ron, the project teams knowledge navigator

Santiago, Akash, Linda, Ron

To introduce the team to Ron, who they will work with. To provide the team with a general idea of what the project will entail.

Before project begins, after the initial meeting (Thursday, Feb 20, 2014)

Face-to-face meeting

Internal

Project kick-off

Santiago, Akash, Ron, Antonio, Nick

To get the new team members (Santiago and Akash) situated with the work environment and the development

The day the project began (Friday, February 21, 2014)

Face-to-face meeting; distribution of usernames,

Internal

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tools. To introduce the project team to the organizations web development staff.

passwords, network/server info, etc.

Post-project initiation meeting

Santiago, Akash, Ron

To estimate the quantity of work and to narrow down the projects main focus.

At beginning of the project (Tuesday, March 3, 2014)

Meeting, Q&A between Ron and developers

Internal

Weekly meetings

IT Team To assure everyone is on the right track, to discuss findings, problems, solutions, and to assist one another with any potential issues

Weekly and/or when necessary

Face-to-face, e-mail depending on who is in the office

Internal

Project completion meeting

Santiago, Akash, Ron, Linda

To discuss what the project team has accomplished and any final thought

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Face-to-face

Internal

Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS)

1. Initiation

1.1 First meeting

1.1.1 Discuss the organization

1.1.2 Set up work schedule

1.2 Second Meeting

1.2.1 Meet knowledge navigator

1.2.2 Discuss project and goals

2. Planning/Preparation

2.1 Become familiar with work environment & productivity tools

2.1.1 Introduction of project team to the rest of the staff

2.1.2 Introduction of project team to the office/work environment

2.1.3 Set usernames and passwords for resources

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2.1.4 Make some few minor changes to the site

2.2 Defining how project relates to goal and expectations of professor, course

2.2.1 Discussion of what project team needs to deliver for their project plan

2.3 Documentation of flaws

2.3.1 Compile log of features that are broken or not functioning

2.3.2 Got feedback from users and staff

3. Execution

3.1 Analyze website for broken or non-functional features

3.1.1 Modify any flawed code/content if possible

3.2 Begin compiling log of broken links

3.2.1 Fix broken links

3.3 Begin compiling log of links to external sources

3.4 Add/update content provided to us by the users

3.5 Organize information in a way that makes it accessible and comprehensible

3.6 Editing the site to provide reliable site navigation

3.7 Making content on website more relevant

3.7.1 Using software/code that can assign expiration dates to post/pages

Monitoring & Control Outline

Areas That Requires Control

How It Will Be Controlled Responsible

Contact between project team and technology staff

Weekly meetings as well as e-mail/phone when necessary

All team members

Keeping work safe Backing up all data and saving constantly while working

All team members

Securely sharing data and documents

Only using the companys resources for sharing

All team members

Documentation of findings & solutions

Documenting any changes made to website and to code. Documenting solutions and sharing them with rest of the staff.

All team member

Keeping track of time worked Writing down hours on project schedule

Santiago, Akash

Keeping track of tasks Writing down tasks on the Santiago, Akash

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completed and project progress

WBS and on the project schedule/progress

Risk Management Plan

Risk Description Probability (Low, Medium, High)

Urgency ranking (0=not urgent, 10

=urgent)

Contingency Plan

Hardware failure (server is down, computer breaks, broken keyboard, etc.)

Medium Varies Action taken will depend on what fails. If it can be fixed, it will be fixed, but will likely take longer. If there is the option to substitute the equipment for another one (e.g. another machine, screen, keyboard, etc.), this option should be taken.

Software failure (frozen program, WordPress goes down, Office suite flaws, e-mail program down, etc.)

Medium Varies As with hardware, substitution/replacement is the best option to fix software failure.

Absence of Ron, knowledge navigator

Medium 3 If Ron is absent on any given day, the project staff will have to consult with another one of the directors or with the webmasters.

Lengthy absence/illness of one or both of the project team staff (Santiago, Akash)

Medium

Varies

If either or both members are away from the office for an extensive period of time, they will have to first, let the directors/staff know. They must then ask for instructions on how to continue working on the

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project from home. They must also constantly update the rest of the team on their progress.

Conflicting ideas/practices

High 5 There will be differences in ideas. To resolve, staff will have to effectively communicate and come to an agreement with one another.

In-office time is insufficient to complete amount of work

High 10 If the project staff cannot complete parts of the project during the allowed time in the office, they will have to work on it away from the office.

Loss of files Low 9 If any documents or files are lost, the person who lost them must take responsibility for it. They will then do their best to find it and if necessary, replacing it. To avoid, backups should be kept and updated frequently.

Destruction of the workplace or workplace equipment (fire, flood, hurricane, freak accident, etc.)

Low 10 In the case that the place of work is damaged to the point that it is unusable and/or inaccessible, the project team will contact the directors and follow their instructions tor possible relocation. Working from home might be necessary. Suspension of project, whether it is permanent or temporary, might occur in an extreme case.

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Progress/Project Schedule

Thursday, February 13, 2014 (3-5PM)

Met with Linda, discussed the organization, set up times to work with the

organization (Tuesday and Thursday from 3-5PM, Friday 11AM-3PM)

Thursday, February 20, 2014 (3-5PM)

Met with Linda, director, and Ron, our knowledge navigator. Discussed the

project with Ron, who would we will be working with. Also met Antonio,

webmaster, and Nick, web developer.

Project: Making the organizations websites functional and efficient so that users

can find content that is accurate and accessible.

Friday, February 21, 2014 (11AM-3PM)

Introduction of project team to the web development team and to the rest of the

staff, as well as to the work environment

Introduction of project team to the development environment

Have project team speak with some users and staff to get feedback

Tuesday, February 25-Friday, February 28 (Tuesday/Thursday 3-5PM, Friday 11AM-

3PM)

Began working on the Childrens Campaign website. Set up username and

passwords for server/website. Began fixing flaws such as broken links, irrelevant

content, out-of-date content, and mismatched boxes/fields.

Tuesday, March 3, 2014- Estimating quantity of work that needs to be put into the

project, narrowing down the projects scope (3-5 PM)

Met with Ron to discuss the project and to specify the focus of the project

We estimated that the project will take around 30 work days to complete (based

on our current schedule of T, TH, F), and around 90-120 hours. Plus we added 5

additional days as a safety net in case we need to do any extra work away from

the office.

Project scope: The Childrens Campaign and the Voices for Florida Girls

websites are currently running, however, a large portion of the content is out of

date, broken, or not functional. Our job will be to go through the sites, find any

faulty content and/or features and do our best to correct them or modify them.

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Throughout the whole process we will have to keep the users in minds. The

websites will have to be developed with their needs in minds, and they need to

be designed in a user-friendly way that allows users to navigate it, and find what

they need in an efficient manner.

Thursday, March 6, 2014 (3-5 PM)

Met with Ron to discuss documentation of broken links, external sources

Got some feedback from the users and staff

Began to compile a log of links that are broken or lead to the wrong resource.

This will serve as a way to document what needs to be changed so that they can

be fixed and crossed off.

Began a log of external sources, which will serve as a maintenance resource for

the future.

Friday March 7-Friday March 14, 2014 -> Spring Break (no work was done)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 Thursday, March 19, 2014 (3-5 PM)

Analyzed the website for broken or non-functional features

Modified code to organize some of the content in a better way

Continued going through the site and making note of any features that need to be

fixed.

Began working on the logs of broken and external links

Friday, March 21, 2014-Friday, March 28, 2014 (11AM-3PM Fridays, Tuesday-Thursday

3-5PM)

Found a plug in that found broken links.

Used plug in to compile a list, a method faster than our previous one.

Added/updated content provided by the users

Organized information in an accessible and comprehensible manner

Edit interface of the site

Tuesday, April 1-Thursday April 3, 2014 (3-5PM)- Friday, April 4, 2014 (11AM-3PM)

New challenge: figuring out a way that post/pages on the website can be expire.

This will help maintain relevant content, while removing irrelevant or old content.

This will also save data and space on the organizations site

Found a solution: a WordPress plugin that can set expiration on a post/page, and

deleting it once the timer reaches the expiration date.

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014 (3-5PM)

Our last day of work with Childrens Campaign.

We had our sponsor evaluation signed as we met with Ron and Linda. They were

both very pleased with our work. We thanked them for the opportunity and for

their help.

Handoff Plan

As the project comes to an end it is important to establish a plan for any future work

done. This will also apply to a scenario in which the current project managers are

unable to perform their duties.

In order for the project to be successfully handed-off to another project manager, the

following must occur:

The Childrens Campaign and its directors must first approve of the new project

manager.

The new project manager must carefully review this project plan, as well as all

attached documents. He/she should have a clear understanding of the project,

goals, and deliverables.

The new project manager must follow the WBS and the project schedule, step by

step. Any modifications to tasks or to the schedule must be discussed with the

Childrens Campaign and their technology team.

If any new risks are identified, the new project manager must develop a

contingency plan and must make note of both in the risk management section.

The new project manager is in charge of consulting with the technology team to

obtain his/her own personal username and password for all of the web

resources.

Once the new project manager has begun working on the project, he/she will be

in charge of communicating with the rest of the team, and developing his/her own

communication plan.

Any changes made to the project or the project plan must be documented in the

plan and must be clear, concise, and realistic.Any questions or concerns the new

manager might have need to be addressed to Ron Lauver or Linda Alexionok.

The previous project managers, Santiago Paz and Akash Sawh, will also be

available for help via e-mail or phone. Their contact information can be obtained

from the offices staff directory

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Conclusion/Reflection

Our time at The Childrens Campaign was a straightforward and knowledgeable experience. As IT apprentices, our main objective was to improve the functionality and efficiency of the organizations website. Our team satisfied this requirement through locating and correcting any anomalies found within the website. Some of these corrections included broken links, images, URLs, and making design changes to the website. For the most part we followed our initial plan with very little alterations and straying from the original. The tasks that were requested of us were forthright and very clear. We understood what our clients expected and delivered it to the best of our abilities. Our project was considered an overall success. Everybody that was involved with it was satisfied with the final outcome. Our team received positive feedback for the hard work and strong initiative we put into this project. We were able to develop a product that our clients appreciated and were proud to associate their organization with.

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