Sharp Printing Case Study

Sharp Printing Case Study

Problem Definition:

The major problem with Sharp Printing's laser printer project is its senior management's lack of communication to its project manager on its priorities. The project manager's estimate for the cost of the project is $1,250,000 over senior managements estimate. This is a huge discrepancy and the cost and time estimates done by the project manager seem to be fairly reasonable.

Justification for the problem:

It seems to be clear that senior management has an estimate that is probably unrealistic when compared to the project managers estimate that is $1,250,000 over the senior manager's estimate. Based the large discrepancies of cost and time, there seems to be a communication breakdown between top management and the project manager on the priorities of the project.

Alternative Courses of Action:

As one alternative they could change the scope of the project in order to keep the costs down. Another alternative could be to outsource the technology design. The company could employ the priority matrix in order to get top management to clarify their priorities. The company could also partner with another organization or have a research group in order to share costs and share technology and production methods. The company could commission a break even study for the laser printer. Finally the company could cancel the project all together.

Evaluation of Alternatives:

Change the scope of the project:

Having a well defined project scope is essential to any project. In this case I believe that the scope of the project is pretty well defined and changing the scope of the project would have little impact on the costs and time of the project.

Outsourcing of the Technology Design:

Outsourcing very well could have a positive affect on costs and time. The problem with that is having your competition be able to use the same design.

Using the Priority Matrix:

This is used by a project manager to manage trade-offs among time, costs, and performance. In this case I believe this could be very helpful