EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
PU E
SHI
NG Y L E NC
OU TO THE GATE OF EXC EL
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
,EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
WARNING: PLEASE NOTE THAT PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC
OFFENSE, therefore students must use this document ONLY as a guideline. Hence
students have regenerated their own (personalized) solutions paying particular
attention to module contents as prescribed by module facilitators, lecturers and
supervisors. This document’s purpose is to compact all sources of information that
might be relevant to students’ assignments, hence additional knowledge on the
provided information is not restricted by the authors. However, submitting this
document as one’s final work is considered unethical, and students should be
penalized. If this document is plagiarized by the users and fails, EXCELCENTRE
should not be rendered accountable since the contents in this document only give
learners a kick-start on what is expected of them from their areas of specialty.
CAUTION: STUDENTS ARE NOT MANDATED TO USE EVERY DETAIL IN THIS
DOCUMENT IN WRITING THEIR ASSIGNMENT
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
,EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
STRATEGIES IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Full Model Answer Pack — All 5 Case Study Sets
Section A (compulsory) and Section B (all questions answered for extra practice)
Prepared as an exam-revision study guide.
Work through the reasoning, not just the final answers — in the exam you will be
marked on justification.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
, EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
CASE STUDY SET 1
Five Keys to IT Program Success
SECTION A — Answer ALL Questions (40 Marks)
Question 1.1 — Factors that negatively impact IT project success, and
recommendations (20 marks)
A. Factors that negatively impact IT project success
The case study reports that over 60% of IT projects surveyed in 2010 failed to deliver
on their goals — either late, over budget, or with reduced functionality. Drawing on the
case and general project/operations management theory, the main contributing factors
are:
• Weak or absent business sponsorship: Senior executives often fail to realise
that IT transformation is as much about the organisation and its people as it is
about technology, so projects lose sight of their business goals.
• Under-qualified or insufficiently senior program leaders: Leaders who lack
the seniority or credibility to drive organisational change cannot mobilise the
business to adopt new ways of working.
• Poor vendor selection and management: Vendors that lack the right
capabilities, or that will not commit the resources promised at bid stage, derail
timelines and budgets.
• Inadequate scoping and uncontrolled scope creep: Without disciplined scope
definition, projects either become bloated with 'bolted-on' features or fail to meet
the original business case.
• Under-investment in technical talent: Skimping on system architects, analysts
and developers produces systems that are less robust, less user-friendly and
harder to adapt.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
PU E
SHI
NG Y L E NC
OU TO THE GATE OF EXC EL
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
,EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
WARNING: PLEASE NOTE THAT PLAGIARISM IS A SERIOUS ACADEMIC
OFFENSE, therefore students must use this document ONLY as a guideline. Hence
students have regenerated their own (personalized) solutions paying particular
attention to module contents as prescribed by module facilitators, lecturers and
supervisors. This document’s purpose is to compact all sources of information that
might be relevant to students’ assignments, hence additional knowledge on the
provided information is not restricted by the authors. However, submitting this
document as one’s final work is considered unethical, and students should be
penalized. If this document is plagiarized by the users and fails, EXCELCENTRE
should not be rendered accountable since the contents in this document only give
learners a kick-start on what is expected of them from their areas of specialty.
CAUTION: STUDENTS ARE NOT MANDATED TO USE EVERY DETAIL IN THIS
DOCUMENT IN WRITING THEIR ASSIGNMENT
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
,EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
STRATEGIES IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
Full Model Answer Pack — All 5 Case Study Sets
Section A (compulsory) and Section B (all questions answered for extra practice)
Prepared as an exam-revision study guide.
Work through the reasoning, not just the final answers — in the exam you will be
marked on justification.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
, EXCELCENTRE LEARNING INSTITUTE 061 043 9805
CASE STUDY SET 1
Five Keys to IT Program Success
SECTION A — Answer ALL Questions (40 Marks)
Question 1.1 — Factors that negatively impact IT project success, and
recommendations (20 marks)
A. Factors that negatively impact IT project success
The case study reports that over 60% of IT projects surveyed in 2010 failed to deliver
on their goals — either late, over budget, or with reduced functionality. Drawing on the
case and general project/operations management theory, the main contributing factors
are:
• Weak or absent business sponsorship: Senior executives often fail to realise
that IT transformation is as much about the organisation and its people as it is
about technology, so projects lose sight of their business goals.
• Under-qualified or insufficiently senior program leaders: Leaders who lack
the seniority or credibility to drive organisational change cannot mobilise the
business to adopt new ways of working.
• Poor vendor selection and management: Vendors that lack the right
capabilities, or that will not commit the resources promised at bid stage, derail
timelines and budgets.
• Inadequate scoping and uncontrolled scope creep: Without disciplined scope
definition, projects either become bloated with 'bolted-on' features or fail to meet
the original business case.
• Under-investment in technical talent: Skimping on system architects, analysts
and developers produces systems that are less robust, less user-friendly and
harder to adapt.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world
