CRISIS IT In May 2007, Frontier Airlines Holdings hired Gerry Coady as chief information officer (CIO). Nearly a year later the airline filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. In an interview, Coady describes how he managed IT projects during the bankruptcy and recession crisis of 2008–2009. Fundamentally, Coady faced a situation of too many projects and too few resources. Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio. He put together a steering committee of senior management that reviewed several hundred projects. The end result was a reduction to less than 30 projects remaining in the portfolio. How Can You Get to a Backlog of over 100 Projects? “There are never enough resources to get everything done.” Backlogs build over time. Sacred cow projects get included in the selection system. Projects proposed from people who have left the airline still reside in the project portfolio. Non-value-added projects somehow make their way into the project portfolio. Soon the queue gets longer. With everyone in IT working on too many projects concurrently, project completion and productivity are slow. Which Projects Remain? To cut the number of projects, the steering committee used a weighting scheme that reflected the airline’s priorities, which were: fly safe, generate revenue, reduce costs, and customer service. The weighting scheme easily weeded out the fluff. Coady noted that “by the time you get to the 20s the margin of differentiation gets narrower and narrower.” Of the remaining projects, project sponsors had to have solid justification why their project is important. Reduction of the number of projects places emphasis on high value projects. What Advice Does Coady Have for Crisis Management? In times of crisis, it is easier to take bold steps to make changes. But you need to have a clear vision of what you should be focusing on with the resources available. Coady suggests, “It comes back to really having a good idea of what the initial business case for a project is and what resources it is consuming, both people and otherwise.” Source: Worthen, B., “Crisis IT,” The Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2009, p. 6. Identify and briefly explain ANY FOUR (4) problems Frontier Airlines Holdings were experiencing. “Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio.” Briefly describe the term portfolio in relation to the case study. “Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio. He put together a steering committee of senior management that reviewed several hundred projects. The end result was a reduction to less than 30 projects remaining in the portfolio. “As a project management expert, identify the benefits of portfolio management that you will include in your presentation to the steering committee of senior managers before they review projects.
Critical Path Method
The critical path is the longest succession of tasks that has to be successfully completed to conclude a project entirely. The tasks involved in the sequence are called critical activities, as any task getting delayed will result in the whole project getting delayed. To determine the time duration of a project, the critical path has to be identified. The critical path method or CPM is used by project managers to evaluate the least amount of time required to finish each task with the least amount of delay.
Cost Analysis
The entire idea of cost of production or definition of production cost is applied corresponding or we can say that it is related to investment or money cost. Money cost or investment refers to any money expenditure which the firm or supplier or producer undertakes in purchasing or hiring factor of production or factor services.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is the process or system of handling all the goods that an organization owns. In simpler terms, inventory management deals with how a company orders, stores, and uses its goods.
Project Management
Project Management is all about management and optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible manner to develop the software as per the requirement of the client. Here the Project refers to the development of software to meet the end objective of the client by providing the required product or service within a specified Period of time and ensuring high quality. This can be done by managing all the available resources. In short, it can be defined as an application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the objective of the Project. It is the duty of a Project Manager to achieve the objective of the Project as per the specifications given by the client.
CRISIS IT
In May 2007, Frontier Airlines Holdings hired Gerry Coady as chief information officer (CIO). Nearly a year later the airline filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. In an interview, Coady describes how he managed IT projects during the bankruptcy and recession crisis of 2008–2009.
Fundamentally, Coady faced a situation of too many projects and too few resources. Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio. He put together a steering committee of senior management that reviewed several hundred projects. The end result was a reduction to less than 30 projects remaining in the portfolio.
How Can You Get to a Backlog of over 100 Projects?
“There are never enough resources to get everything done.” Backlogs build over time. Sacred cow projects get included in the selection system. Projects proposed from people who have left the airline still reside in the project portfolio. Non-value-added projects somehow make their way into the project portfolio. Soon the queue gets longer. With everyone in IT working on too many projects concurrently, project completion and productivity are slow.
Which Projects Remain?
To cut the number of projects, the steering committee used a weighting scheme that reflected the airline’s priorities, which were: fly safe, generate revenue, reduce costs, and customer service. The weighting scheme easily weeded out the fluff. Coady noted that “by the time you get to the 20s the margin of differentiation gets narrower and narrower.” Of the remaining projects, project sponsors had to have solid justification why their project is important. Reduction of the number of projects places emphasis on high value projects.
What Advice Does Coady Have for Crisis Management?
In times of crisis, it is easier to take bold steps to make changes. But you need to have a clear vision of what you should be focusing on with the resources available. Coady suggests, “It comes back to really having a good idea of what the initial business case for a project is and what resources it is consuming, both people and otherwise.”
Source: Worthen, B., “Crisis IT,” The Wall Street Journal, April 20, 2009, p. 6.
- Identify and briefly explain ANY FOUR (4) problems Frontier Airlines Holdings were experiencing.
- “Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio.” Briefly describe the term portfolio in relation to the case study.
- “Coady used a strategy of focusing on reducing the number of projects in the portfolio. He put together a steering committee of senior management that reviewed several hundred projects. The end result was a reduction to less than 30 projects remaining in the portfolio. “As a project management expert, identify the benefits of
portfolio management that you will include in your presentation to the steering committee of senior managers before they review projects.
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