question
A project manager is assigned to lead a digital marketing software project. Some stakeholders don’t support the project, and others want the entire project to be planned out before it starts. The sponsor, on the other hand, is looking for a quick win to get the support of the majority of stakeholders and ensure the project’s continuation.
Answer
- Introduction
Digital marketing becomes the most effective way of promoting and selling a product or service. In today’s competitive, technology-driven market, it provides an efficient way to reach customers compared to conventional marketing strategies, which are more time and cost-consuming. It is an aggregate process of digital marketing utilization using the internet, mobile, and other digital media. The client is in the process of promoting an MLM product using various methods of marketing to sell the product. He needs an application that can assist in managing those methods and accumulating all the data on the promotions and the product sales. Then, monitoring and comparing that data to give an evaluation on which method is the most effective to improve product sales and to assist decision making on future marketing strategies. From here, the idea of developing an application to manage that data came into reality, to build a system providing automation-based method data entry and can generate a sales report for his evaluation.
This project management plan is based upon the project of developing a mobile phone application for a client, which is a digital marketing software. It is being developed as the final project for the subject FIT5147 Software Engineering: Analysis and Design at Monash University Malaysia. The project aims to apply project management knowledge that has been learned throughout the semester into a real scenario and real application. The main objective is to produce an efficient application that can satisfy the client’s requirements and can be used as a tool to manage his business. The background and reasons for making this application will be discussed in the next section, followed by the purposes of this project, then the scope of the whole project.
1.1. Background of the Project
At this time, the company has no direct means of engaging potential customers of its existing product in a sales process. Most of the retailers using the software are unaware of upcoming new features and how to best use the tools available in their current products. While no firm numbers exist, the client estimates that increased tool awareness and usage could garner more than $100,000 in increased monthly revenue. With the release of specific web tools or a SaaS version of the software, the revenue potential from a successfully marketed product is well into the millions annually. Any success in web-deployed products will be a jump from bread-and-butter retail software to something entirely new. To best understand the successes and pitfalls of web-deployed software and the online marketing activity to support it, marketing the project to represent that of a small web-based software start-up is the most cost-effective means of driving change in the company’s marketing ideology.
The project has been commissioned by a developer of digital marketing software for small and medium-sized businesses. The company was founded in 1987 and began developing retail point-of-sale software, which has remained its primary product, selling over 30,000 copies. Its suite of products is installed in over 100,000 retail locations worldwide. The company has been slow to take its products to the web and has no experience with online marketing. Although web-based software will be an eventual evolution of the company’s product offering, the primary income driver now and in the future is likely to be providing robust tools to a broad community of small-to-medium-sized retailers.
1.2. Purpose of the Project
The main reason that leads to undertake this project is the general lack of an Integrated Project Management (IPM) system in Digital Marketing Software that can be used by project managers, team members, and directors at different levels for managing, executing, and monitoring multiple marketing projects. People involved in the marketing profession are becoming much aware of project management strategies. Day by day, they are adopting and implementing various project management methodologies and tools to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of working. Marketing projects vary from simple to complex. Sometimes, it involves managing the mix of traditional and online marketing with tight budget and deadlines. To manage such type of marketing projects, disparate project managers usually end up in a mess and believe that the successful completion of that project was a matter of luck! IPM Systems can provide such project managers a better platform and methodology to manage their marketing projects. This project is focusing on providing a solution for project managers and software teams to effectively develop and manage an IPM system for Digital Marketing Software. This project will also serve as a learning experience for students, providing them with the opportunity to utilize and build upon the knowledge they have obtained in the field of software engineering and project management. This project intends to be a complete life cycle from the initiation phase to the closure phase according to PMI methodology. This project will be done within a virtual team and with stakeholders’ consultation.
1.3. Scope of the Project
At the end of the project, you will have a way to implement the solution. A project plan for software implementation is also a plus but is beyond the scope of this project.
Success Criteria: The success of this project can be measured by the recommendation made for marketing project management software at Intuit. This should identify a clear solution to the problem and address how to better manage marketing projects and coordinate the various activities and priorities amongst Intuit’s marketing teams.
Duration: 12 weeks – Dec 2009 to March 2010. Note that the week of Dec 21 is a company-wide shut-down and the week of Jan 4 will not be included as the Project Manager will not be available.
The scope of this project is to identify the challenges involved in the manual management of marketing projects at Intuit. Based on the challenges identified, evaluate potential marketing project management software solutions that would enhance project management and delivery within Intuit’s marketing department. The evaluation criteria should include ways in which the software would facilitate management and coordination of complex cross-functional projects that involve web and interactive, email, events, and campaign management. Make a recommendation on a software solution (or combination of solutions) that would effectively address the needs of Intuit’s marketing department.
- Stakeholder Analysis
2.1. Identification of Stakeholders
2.2. Assessment of Stakeholder Support
2.3. Strategies for Engaging Stakeholders
- Project Planning
3.1. Importance of Project Planning
3.2. Defining Project Objectives
3.3. Developing a Project Schedule
3.4. Allocating Project Resources
- Managing Stakeholder Expectations
4.1. Communicating Project Goals and Benefits
4.2. Addressing Stakeholder Concerns
4.3. Negotiating with Stakeholders
- Sponsorship and Support
5.1. Role of the Project Sponsor
5.2. Gaining Support from Stakeholders
5.3. Strategies for Quick Wins
- Project Execution
6.1. Implementing the Digital Marketing Software
6.2. Monitoring Project Progress
6.3. Managing Risks and Issues
- Project Evaluation
7.1. Assessing Project Success Criteria
7.2. Gathering Feedback from Stakeholders
7.3. Identifying Lessons Learned
- Project Continuation
8.1. Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability
8.2. Securing Ongoing Support
8.3. Planning for Future Enhancements
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