We will
analyze two different projects; The South Coast Telecommunications
Project and China Telecom Corporation Ltd. The comparison analysis is
divided in to (a) similarities and differences, (b) Triple constraints and
project management processes and (c) lessons learnt from each case
study.

(a)Similarities

(i)Both projects were concerned with
telecommunications. South Coast project was intended to close the gap in terms
of educational facility where students and teachers can interact in real time by
internet within the SCESD area. China telecom’s goal was to bridge the
communication difficulties between Nanshan district with Shenzen.

(ii)South Coast and China Telecom were
both funded by their respective governments (fully and partially).

(iii)Both the organizations depended on
large number of departments: South Coast had six and China Telecom has
ten.

(iv)Both the organizations had their
strengths on effective communications: South Coast communicated their goals
which enabled the team to stay focused, understand priorities and well executed
risk management. China Telecom developed“unified client
communication interface” which centralized the communication between team
members.

(v)Project delayed: South Coast due to
poor planning if expenses and China Telecom due to delay in starting the project
which is one year after the bid was won.

(b)Differences

(i)The size of the project and budget:
South Coast was a medium scale project which was primarily intended for
communication between students and teachers only. The project budget was just
over $1 million. China Telecom’s was a large scale project connecting the
communities within cities with a budget of $3 million.

(ii) South Coast project was poorly
planned and executed. It consisted of volunteers and community support. China
Telecom on the other hand adopted PMI standards, hired project professionals and
with it developed a strong management base.

(iii)South Coast project
exceeded the budget and schedule. China Telecom project was completed earlier
than scheduled plan with no escalation of cost.

(c)Triple constraints and Project
management processes

(i)South Coast Telecommunication
Project:

The project budget was $1,284,528 out
of which $249,750 was a grant from the government. The project was slated for
completion in 2 years and numbers of team members were not specified.

There is no effective project
management process in this project. The reason could be that the project
depended mainly on community support (volunteers). There were six groups
involved in the project and none of them adopted PMI standards. Hence the result
was poor planning which led to scope creep. Shortage of fund further added to
the cost and schedule constraints. Having too many volunteers caused the project
hard to monitor and control. Absence of quality control, quality assurance and
risk management plan made each stage of the project to suffer from financial
shortages which resulted in the team purchasing more expensive equipment than
originally planned.

(ii)China Telecom (Nashan District)
Project:

The project was budgeted are $3
million, work started on July 6,2006 and estimated completion by November 2006.
There were 10 departments with many personnel involved in the project. The
project was completed ahead of time and within the budget.

China Telecom understood that to
execute the project effectively it had to establish PMI standards and build the
most effective communication plan which was the biggest contributor to the
project success. Goal setting by a common vision – “No.1 project” enhanced
collaboration among team members. Formation of Project Management Committee
created a firm structure for the team members to work on which included project
documentation processes, risk management and war room meetings.

(d)Lessons learned:

South Coast
Telecommunication
Project:

(i)Project planning is the most
essential component of the project. Wysocki (2012, p. 151) says “the project
with the good plan has a higher probability of finishing than does the poorly
planned project.”

(ii)Do not involve too many people with
the assumption that the more the people, the faster the completion of the
project. This is the common fallacy in a project. Wysocki (2012, p.266) calls
this the “funnel effect” which ultimately “compromises the quality of
the work.”

(iii)Avoid political interference as much
as possible. A project’s head is the project manager. To have other interested
parties in the administrative positions often dampen the progress- as the saying
goes, ‘to many cooks spoil the soup’.

(iv)Spend carefully within
the budget as buying more expensive equipment in the hope to expedite the work
will result in cost-runaway, which by itself is aMöbius
strip.

China Telecom (Nashan District)
Project:

(i)Project management excellence by
adhering to PMI standards.

(ii)Project planning and effective
communication identified in the beginning of the project.

(iii)Setting goals and the sense of
urgency for the team will get them to be more productive and expect high quality
outputs.

(iv)Rewards for the team give them the
appreciation much needed.

References:

Anon. (1999)Case study reportSouthCoast telecommunication project 96073,
National Telecommunications and Information Administration [Online]. Available
from: http://docsfiles.com/pdf_case_study_report_south_coast_telecommunication_project_96073_coos.html (Accessed: 24 April
2013)

Project
Management Institute, Inc. (2007)PMI® case study:Chinatelecom[Online] Project Management Institute, Inc.
Available from:http://www.pmi.org/business-solutions/~/media/PDF/Case%20Study/China_Telecom_New.ashx

(Accessed:
24 April 2013)

Wysocki, R.
K., (2009), Effective Project Management: Traditional, Agile, Extreme.
Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing.