Monitoring The Progress Of A Project

When comparing the failure points of technology to the people of TJX and the work processes, the failure point in technology had the biggest impact in the security breach. TJX did not have up to date end point protection tools in place to stop and/or diminish risks posed by individuals involving infected USB drives and USB ports. The company also had computer booths placed in public areas with exposed USB ports which can be tampered with at any time. These booths were linked to their production network which provided an avenue to attack and breach TJX’s network. TJX should have put in place detection software on to these booths along with firm USB antivirus scans to combat any individuals up to foul play and to protect the company’s data. The systems used in these booths should have been placed in a different network sector rather than the main production network and should have more rigorous security firewall for network communication. To add to the failure points in technology, TJX did not employ any file integrity monitoring or data leak prevention solutions to detect and stop theft of critical information. No system was in place to observe real time actions of individuals using the system which led to attacks occurring and TJX being oblivious to them. Had there been solutions in place along with a team of proficient

The paper is divided into three sections, the first of which will establish a timeline of events. This project background will serve as a case study for the analysis in the following section that will be structured such that each of the previously mentioned facets will be independently analyzed and contrasted with project management principles. Finally the paper will conclude with a summary of the analysis and recommendations based on

Project management is short term; it has a beginning, an end, and has identified steps to take throughout the process. The steps of project management are as follows: proposal, initial investigation, detailed investigation, development and testing, trial, operation and closure, as well as, the evaluation. There are measurable benefits to using project management within an organization for certain key objectives or processes that need

Introduction of new technology, strictness in law, reduction in profit margin etc. are the examples of threats.

Information technology can be very costly, and it is imperative for organizations not to overspend when it comes to their IT budget. However, it is vital for organizations to understand the risks associated with information technology. As we saw in the TJX case, TJX’s senior management did not update their systems and had very little IT knowledge. This led to multiple risks involving several security breaches which could have been contained by improving their information systems more efficiently. It is not just developing and implementing information technology; it is also understanding risks and formulating solutions to issues associated with IT. In Adventures of an IT Leader, Barton faced many challenges when it came to the budget of IVK. He assumed full responsibility for all the risks associated with the technology used and the IT budget. When the power shut off at IVK, Barton was faced with many challenges including possible customer records compromised, IVK’s systems infected, and deciphering solutions to secure the system. Barton suggested that IVK shut down operations to build a new and secure system to ensure IVK’s systems could identify where the infection originated and repairing the system for future

Project quality is concerned with two ultimate goals i.e. efficiency of processes employed in the implementation of the project and ensuring the quality of the end-product, So that the product is “fit for use” and covers all the needs of user and its cost effectiveness. PMBOK recommends suggests employing quality planning, assurance and control for quality implementation of the project. In simple terms it is necessary to produce a quality product that the projects are being run with quality. That is why experts of the fields believe that quality of project guarantees the quality of end-product (Windmüller, 2013).

Set an ambitious but not overly optimistic target completion date, according to resources invested and management’s targets. In case of delays, readjust target completion date.

Project monitoring is of great importance in project planning. Project monitoring usually provides information which is of importance in, determining if the projects inputs are all used up, identifying problems facing the society, ensuring that people working on the project attend to their duties and also make it easy to use strategies

TJX collected too much personal information, kept it too long and relied on weak security encryption. At the time of the breach, few retailers had converted to WPA and didn’t want t to spend the money to implement new security measures. As a preventative control TJX should have implement WPA encryption technology. As a detective control, TJX should actively monitor and test their WLAN security. As a corrective control, TJX should actively implement the following PCI standards:

While projects can be similar in some instances, no two projects are ever the same. For this reason, management of projects requires the application of tools and techniques to meet the goals of the temporary endeavor. Project managers apply these tools and techniques to determine what is required for project delivery such as the list of activities to completed, the time required to complete the activities, resources needed and the various risks associated with the deliverable and efforts. A multitude of tools and techniques are employed by the project manager based on the need of the effort to organize, identify and communicate the various aspects of the project. While in contrast, the repetitive nature of operations activities

It is clear to see that throughout the project the tasks and progress were monitored very closely. The project is heavily dependent on the resources provided by its shareholders and in turn they rely on regular updates to reassure them on their investment. In the construction and building industry the methods and application of project management tools are very reliable and well tested. Therefore, it could benefit the project if the it was managed with detailed and defined practises and also follow standards set and agreed upon on a international level.

Thirdly, the new CEO of the company (formerly the CFO), focused more on cost cutting rather than the growth and development of the business. This has a major in putting up controls against security threats, as the budget given was low.

Project Execution and Control Phase has a direct correlation to project progress and stakeholder 's expectations. If the minor issues are not noticed, they impact cost, schedule and risk and see the project from the Project Plan, thus

Several adaptations to the traditional approaches like agile, interactive, phased, extreme, etc have been made but each will be expected to meet the requirements of the project objectives, timeline, resources, and deliveries of the stakeholders. Other industry standard certifications like ISO9000 and regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley have also influenced methodologies and processes used by several organisations (Kerzner, 2003). Generally, managing projects should involved five major process which include the project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and controlling, and then project closing. See Fig. 2 below.

c After the acceptance of all stakeholders is achieved, actual growth begins and a project management methodology needs to be selected based on the major areas seeking improvement. A project tracking and monitoring system has to be in place for improved estimation of project life-cycle.