Desert Palm Apartments Overview

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Executive Summary

Desert Palm apartments are 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments in the middle of the city designed for the modern city dwellers. The apartments will be situated in the heart of Nairobi the market target being middle-income young professionals. The apartments will be located in a fast-paced environment and will have a secured underground parking.

The Project comprises an apartment block in the middle of the city. The apartment block shall comprise 3 No. 1-Bedroom units, 3 No. 2-Bedroom units and 2 No. 3-Bedroom units. In addition to this, each unit shall have 2 designated parking lots situated below the apartment at an underground level.

Business Objectives

To increase MJ holdings market share in Nairobi
To provide affordable yet quality accommodation for city dwellers and to alleviate the persistent problem of insufficient housing in the city
To build a sustainable and profit oriented business in Nairobi that will help the business grow and expand
To enhance our reputation as the leading developer in East Africa by investing in competitive ventures
Successfully providing competitive infrastructure using our team of qualified professionals

MJ holding is capable in providing housing solutions as is evident from the numerous projects successfully undertaken over the years that have contributed to our knowledge and innovation. MJ holdings intends on increasing its market share by 30 percent and increasing profits by 25 percent and Desert Palm apartments will help catapult the company to this goal.

Business Vision: To provide competitive affordable housing and parking facilities within the city centre that remains relevant at all times ensuring stable and sustainable profits to investment

Project Management Objectives

To manage time in a project allowing it to commence on a specific starting point and end in a specific predetermined time
To control the cost and resources to complete the project within the given budget
To instill a sense of direction so as to ensure commitment, this includes motivation, teamwork and developing confidence.
To act as a change agent who introduces innovations and overcomes resistance to necessary change that is beneficial to the project as a whole.

A need arises for project management in this project due to:

There is unfamiliarity: the project being in the middle of the city in a crowded place. It would therefore require the services of a project manager to decipher and tackle the challenges that arise with great creativity and innovation.
The project context is a rapidly changing environment due to the crowded nature and possibly shortage of space within the site to act as temporary storage of building materials and equipment. A project management structure thereby becomes suitable due to its flexibility and diversity.
The reputation of the organization undertaking the development is at risk. This is due to the complex nature of the target market that would find the apartment less attractive should it fail to be completed within a reasonable amount of time. The failure to complete the project would also result into a financial loss to the stakeholders and compromise future opportunities in terms of relationship with financing bodies.

Solution to Business Objectives

Provision of Parking within the apartment (at basement level: 2 car parks per unit) increases the value of the apartment and it would thus make it attractive to the target market and as a result the period of recouping investment would be shortened.
Provision of 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom units gives a diversified products thereby maximizing on the market attract the required demand.
By manipulating design variables, the interplay between the different units, their diversified nature and ample parking space gives a niche to the project over similar nature allowing investors to enjoy returns throughout the life cycle of the project (Lock p.234).

Project management Solution/ Description

Time will be managed through creation of a structure that outlines a schedule in which activities/ milestones are best performed in order to complete the project in the required time. This is achieved through analysis of the various processes involved in construction using Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Activities which can thus run concurrently are scheduled to run that way so as to save on time.
With project complexity in terms of number of subcontractors involved in carrying out the project, the project management team provides direction by motivating the parties involved. The project manager also acts as the entrepreneur in the project in terms of mobilizing resources, facilities and human resources.

Project Description

MJ ltd intends on constructing middle income apartments targeting young professionals, Desert Palm will consist of one, two and three bedroom apartments that will cater to the economic need of the target population as well as desire for a sanctuary in the ever-busy streets of Nairobi.

Upon the successful completion of Desert Palm, we project an increase in the profit margin by 15% and market share increase by 9%. Moreover, we will achieve trust in potential consumers and respect among our competitors and shareholders.

The project includes the erection of three blocks consisting of one, two and three bedroom apartments. Due to constraint of space (Crowded City), project management presents opportunities that allow the organization to move fast through a flexible and diverse project management structure. Desert palm Apartments is faced by a risk, time and financial constraint. The project is to be tackled in a manner that would ensure a minimum of this constraint. Complexity arises with the number of contractors working on the project. All these contractors depend on each other for materials, and service. It becomes paramount to ensure smooth running of operations among these contractors.

The impact of this project includes retaining workers and establishment of a sustainable profit oriented development. Measures of the project success include the completion of the project within the budget, time limit and without extreme strain on human resource. Assuming that there are no unexpected problems arising (Philips p.354)

The Roles of the employees and Project Stakeholders are as follows

Project Sponsor MJ Holdings Ltd	Provides executive team approval and sponsorship for the project. Has budget ownership for the project and is the major stakeholder and recipient for the project deliverables.
Project Owner	Provides policy definition to the Project team. Resolves all policy issues with the appropriate policy owners in order to provide a clear, decisive definition. Makes final decisions and resolves conflicts or issues regarding project expectations across organizational and functional areas. The project owner and the project manager have a direct link for all communication. The project manager will work directly with the project owner on all policy clarification.
Project Manager	Provides overall management to the project. Accountable for establishing a Project Charter, developing and managing the work plan, securing appropriate resources and delegating the work and insuring successful completion of the project. All project team members report to the project manager. Handles all project administrative duties, interfaces to project sponsors and owners and has overall accountability for the project.
Steering Committee	Provide assistance in resolving issues that arise beyond the project manager’s jurisdiction. Monitor project progress and provide necessary tools and support when milestones are in jeopardy.
Stakeholder	Key provider of requirements and recipient of project deliverable and associated benefits. Deliverable will directly enhance the stakeholders’ business processes and environment. Majority of stakeholders for this project will be agency heads, CIO’s and project management representatives.
Team Member	Working project team member who analyzes, designs and ultimately improves or replaces the business processes. This includes collaborating with teams to develop high level process designs and models, understanding best practices for business processes and partnering with team members to identify appropriate opportunities, challenging the old rules of the business and stimulating creating thinking, and identifying organizational impact areas.

The identity of the stake holders are as follows.

Name	Role
MJ Holdings	Project Sponsor
MJ Holdings	Project Owner
Samson James	Project Manager
Edward Johns	Steering Committee Member
Mary Kate	Steering Committee Member
Ibrahim Yusuf	Steering Committee Member
Nimrod Isaacs’	Team Member

Project Approach

By phasing the project, First putting up the 3- Bedroom Units within the apartment then proceeding to do build the rest of the apartment (Ireland p.110). This may attract the Target clientele for the 3-Bedroom units to pre-purchase the units before actual completion of the units. This would amount to extra funding to carry the project to completion. It would be safe to assume that the target clientele for the 3-bedroom units would be a family who may have accumulated adequate savings and would be keener to purchase a unit. Their counterparts are either fresh graduates or young couples who would be looking to rent a 1-bedroom unit or a 2-bedroom unit.

Project Estimates

Estimated Schedule

Key Project milestones relative to project start are as follows:

Project Milestones	duration	Target Date
Project Start		MM/DD/YY
Excavation	30 days	1^stJan 2010
Blinding to foundation, hardcore fills	5 days	6^thJan 2010
Laying of reinforcement to basement, necessary waterproofing and column reinforcements	10 days	16^thJan 2010
Concrete foundation at basement level	5 days	21^stJan 2010
Laying of reinforcements for ramps to basement and columns to upper basement levels (laying of ducting for mechanical and electrical services_	5 days	26^thJan 2010
Concrete works on columns and ramps	3 days	29^thJan 2010
Form works for suspended floor levels and the necessary reinforcements and ducts for required mechanical and electrical services	10 days	8^thFeb 2010
Concreting suspended floors (in the event of double basement or ground floor in the event of single basement)	5 days	13^thFeb 2010
Reinforcements for columns	5 days (for each floor)	29^thFeb 2010
Concreting of ground floor columns	3 days(for each floor)	16^thMarch2010
Construction of ground floor walling	10 days( for each floor)	4^thApril 2010
Reinforcement of necessary beams and suspended floor slab together with formwork and necessary services	10 days (for each floor)	21^stJune 2010
Concreting suspended floor	5 days (for each floor)	21^stJuly 2010
Shuttering for columns and suspended floors to roof slab	20 days	15^thAug 2010
Roof structure	42 days	19^thSept 2010
Roof covering	12 days	1^stOct 2010
Electrical and mechanical (first fix)	100 days	15^thJan 2011
Door frames	15 days	30^thJan 2011
Window fixing	15 days	15^thFeb 2011
Plastering of ground floor walling and any other walls in suspended floors	5 days(for each floor)	29^thMarch 2011
Painting first coat	20 days	20^thApril 2011
Floor screed	10 days (per floor)	30^thMay 2011
Wall and floor tiles	30 days	1^stJune 2011
Joinery works	50 days	20^thJuly 2011
Electrical second fix	30 days	20^thAug 2011
Plumbing second fix	50 days	4^thOct 2011
Wall renderings and claddings	30 days	4^thNov 2011
Doors and iron monger	30 days	4^thDec 2011
Final coat of painting	30 days	4^thJan 2012
Project Completion		5^thJan 2012

Resource Requirements – Team and Support Resources

The following personnel resources are required to complete this project:

Personnel Resource Types	Quantity
Building contracters	3
Interior designers	1
Supplier	3
Total Personnel Resources	7

Assuming that they work within the expected time schedule

Estimated Cost

Expense	Original Budget	Current Budget	Spent to Date	Est. to Complete	Current Forecast	Variance
Walling, partitions and all external works	12,298,478.00	14,913,698.00	–	–	12,205,860.00
Finishes and services	30,325,400.00	36,186,816.00	–	–	34,903,456.00
Building structure	16,923,800.00	19,753,377.00	–	–	19,668,250.00
Other			–	–
Total	64,633,436.00	75,003,112.00	–	–	74,059,376.00

Assuming that there are no major unexpected accidents.

Checkpoint/ Funding Schedule

Funding will be received upon completion of every phase as per the project expectations. Thorough assessments will be carried out and a detailed financial statement will be required.

Project Controls

Steering Committee Meetings

Steering committee meetings will comprise of the officials from MJ Holdings and the contractors. the purpose of these meetings will be to monitor progress and to solve any problems that may arise during the construction.

Monthly Status Reports

Monthly Status reports will be handed to the owners and stakeholders in an attempt to monitor progress.

Issue Management

All Project-related issues will be tracked, prioritized, assigned, resolved, and communicated in accordance with the Project Management Procedures. The Project manager is assigned this task and is required to communicate these issues with the owners.

Change Management

With such site context, changes may have to be effected to allow for steady progression of the construction. This may pose a challenge due to number of parties involved. The project manager therefore would introduce innovations that would result in necessary change and at the same time overcome any resistance that may arise. The project manager will analyse all changes before implementation and reviewed by MJ Holdings inorder to determine its effects on budget and time.

Communication Management

The project manager would act as a centre of communication between the parties involved. He would receive all the results, requests, memoranda and complains. He would also give out information to subordinates and all stakeholders on matters such as policies, budgets, objectives and schedules on a weekly basis; however. The project manager will also provide status report to MJ holdings on a monthly basis and distributes the project team meeting minutes. MJ Holdings on all urgent issues, these issues include time and financial constraint. Steering committee meetings and monthly status reports will also be carried out to ensure communication between all parties involved.

Authorizations

The Scope Statement will be approved by:

The Project Manager: Samson James

The Project Owner: MJ holdings Ltd

The Project Sponsor: MJ Holdings Ltd

Project Changes will be approved by:

MJ Holdings Ltd

Project deliverables will be approved/accepted by:

The Project Owner: MJ Holdings Ltd

The Project Sponsor: MJ Holdings Ltd

The key Stakeholders: MJ Holdings Ltd

Specific task responsibilities of project resources will be defined in the Project/work Plan.

Scope Statement Approval Form/Signatures

Project Name: Desert Palm Apartments

Project Manager: Samson James

I have reviewed the information contained in this Scope Statement and agree.

Name	Signature	Date
Samson James
Edward Johns
Mary Kate
Ibrahim Yusuf
Nimrod Isaacs

The signatures of the people above relay an understanding in the purpose and content of this document by those signing it. By signing this document, you agree to this as the formal Project Scope Statement.

Works Cited

Ireland, Lewis. Project Management. Washington: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006. Print.
Lock, Dennis. Project management. Surrey: Gower Publishing, 2007. Print.
Phillips, Joseph. PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide. Washington: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003. Print.

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