Project Proposal: Setting up the Infrastructure for Network Installation and Maintenance

Deliverables. The deliverables of the project are dependent on the stage of implementation. The general timeline of the program is listed in figure 3. The project will last approximately 360 working days, with a projected starting date of Monday 2nd October 2017, and ending on Friday 15th February 2019

Benefits and costs. The benefit from the project is streamlined operations from better networking capacity at Eltohn Int. Inc. The tentative cost of the project is USD 273,360. The cost is broken down into individual resources in figure 4.

Section2: Project scope and project requirements and Project crashing.

Project Scope and Requirements

Scope. The scope of this project is limited to setting up the infrastructure for network installation and maintenance. The specialized network for this company will feature a multi-layered structure that would operate the layers of the OSI model, a content switch for load balancing and high performance. Also, it would operate intrusion detection system to monitor inbound and outbound network traffic (Escotal.com, 2013). Further, it would facilitate intrusion prevention system that would prevent network attacks and also monitor traffic; a load balancer for distributing the network traffic evenly, DHCP Server, for distributing IP information, and DNS server to provide name resolution from the hostname to IP address. Additionally, it would avail Proxy server, Bandwidth Shaper for controlling bandwidth usage, CSU/DSU for translating LAN data format and the WAN data format, media converter for interconnecting the older technology with the new and a firewall that would protect the network from external attacks (Escotal.com, 2013). Once the specialized network is installed, the individual branches will be able to communicate securely with one another over this system. Access control via passwords and verification systems will ensure that the communication is secure (Escotal.com, 2013).

Work Breakdown Structure. The work of the project is organized into the four phases of the project lifecycle. These include the initiation, planning, implementation, and closure. The specific subtasks under each category are represented in figure 2.

Estimated timeline. The estimated period for the project is 360 working days, right from initiation to closure. The long period will ensure that all the project plans are executed, all challenges are addressed, all the processes tested, and also it would give time for any problems with the network to be solved (Kerzner, 2013). A detailed breakdown is given in figure 3.

Estimated cost. The costs that the organization will incur in the project include the purchases of equipment, hiring labor, consultation costs, additional costs associated with monitoring and evaluating the project (Kerzner, 2013). These costs are distributed over the four phases of the project cycle. The company will finance all the costs associated with the project, from the profits they make from various projects. The average cost of the entire project as shown in figure 4 is USD 273,360. This is the cost of human resource alone. Additional costs will be incurred in the acquisition of infrastructure.

Stakeholders. The internal stakeholders include the information personnel in the organization, the network users, and the information manager. The external stakeholders include individuals who will be contracted to carry out the project, including the network providers and the company contracted to oversee the installation. The other stakeholders will include contracted IT personnel who will be involved in training the employees on how to use the network.

Several team members are involved in the development and execution of this project. The project manager is responsible for managing the scope, schedule and the cost of the project, resolving conflict resolution within the team, being the central command and communication center, issuing performance reviews and negotiating on behalf of the team. He has good leadership and management skills. The network administrator serves the role of setting up and managing the network and developing network usage policy. The required skill set is a technical knowledge on computer networks, and administration. The network designer is responsible for the assessment of the current system, identification of areas that need attention and conceptual development of appropriate network solutions. The network design engineer, therefore, has working knowledge on computer networks. The trainer guides the employees in using the network. As such the trainer needs to have some familiarity with the operation of the network, good interpersonal skills and an adequate ability for instruction. The test user is a professional programmer who assesses the system for appropriateness of function and form after its deployment.

Functional Requirements. According to Kerzner (2013), this set of requirements comprises the core definition of a system. They include administration, authentication and authorization, interfaces, data back-up, legal regulation and the business rules.

Non-functional Requirements. These define the form of a system. They include availability, capacity, reliability, maintainability, recoverability, manageability, data integrity, usability, serviceability, security, interoperability and performance.

2.2 Project crashing.

Crashing the project can reduce the total time spent on its implementation by two weeks (Kerzner, 2013). However, crashing can only be achieved through the allocation of additional labor or resources, which impose a greater cost to the project (Kerzner, 2013). Hence, a trade-off between time and cost must be analyzed. In this project, a week amounts to 40 hours. This project can be reduced by two weeks (80 hours) by increasing the resource allocation to the critical steps. The critical paths in the process are shown in figure1 as red lines. These steps include network mapping, identification of gaps in the telecommunication network, network design, network installation, employee training and project evaluation.

The project timeline can be reduced by two weeks if more resources are allocated to the network design, employee training, and project evaluation. Adding 80 hours of overtime to the network design stage effectively reduces the lifecycle of the project by two weeks or 10 working days. The number of weeks reduced is 2, at an additional cost of USD 1200. Therefore, the crashing cost of this process is USD 600 per week.

Section3: Project stakeholders, communications, risk management plan, and ethical

3.1 Project stakeholdersStakeholder analysis is carried out to examine their characteristics such as interests, knowledge, potential alliances with others and their ability to affect the policy process through leadership or power (Kerzner, 2013). The stakeholders are the project beneficiaries and the executors, and they all have a common interest in the creation of a network system to link the branches of Eltohn Int. Inc. The beneficiaries include the business owners and the clients of Eltohn Int. Inc. On the other hand, the executors include the management team that comprises the network administrators, the branch managers, and their employees and the IT experts in charge of maintenance and repairs. The power influence is skewed in favor of the beneficiaries, who will, therefore, determine the minimum requirements of the network. Stakeholder support is critical for entire project lifecycle (Kerzner, 2013). To secure the support and cooperation of all stakeholders involved, the system design will be based on the designated requirements of the beneficiaries. However, the developer should also allow some degree of flexibility to accommodate the interests of the executors who will spend a lot of time handlin...